US policy on Lanka's human rights won't shift, says envoy

Manjula Fernando in Washington

The US policy on Sri Lanka on the human rights front is unlikely to shift with a new President in the Oval office after November's election, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the US Prasad Kariyawasam said.

Speaking to the Sunday Observer, at his office in White Haven Street, Washington DC, Ambassador Kariyawasam said the US does not shift its foreign policy with every elected President and there was no indication so far that this standing policy is likely to change this year.

The Sri Lankan Government renewed its relations with the US after the January 8 Presidential election where President Maithripala Sirisena was elected to office avowing to end impunity. The US played a leading role to call for an international mechanism to investigate war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka's armed forces and state leaders. After the defeat of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and compliance on the Human Rights front, relations with the US improved vastly. Later ,Sri Lanka was given the freedom to investigate war crimes charges through a credible domestic mechanism.

The world giant has also pledged support in the country's ambitious economic goals, and the two governments are currently formulating an action plan to facilitate trade and business and a meeting in this regard will take place between Ambassador Kariyawasam and Secretary of State John Kerry on February 26.

The Ambassador said Sri Lanka is eager to work with anyone who will be elected to the White House, be it Democratic party front runner Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump of the Republican party or anyone else.