International Community firmly behind Lanka - FM
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament on Friday the
resounding victory of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential
Polls earned the praise of several friendly countries.
The Minister speaking at the debate on the extension of the State of
Emergency said the commendations are a clear manifestation of the
solidarity towards Sri Lanka by the International Community, as well as
an acknowledgement of the integrity of the election process executed by
the Election Commissioner and his staff.
He said the integrity of the election process was further endorsed by
the statements made by the election observers.
The Commonwealth Expert Team in its report stated that "based on our
team reports and reports from other observers it appears that the
overall voting and counting proceeded reasonably well in most areas."
Meanwhile, the integrity of the election process was acknowledged by
the Colombo-based envoys of the European countries during my discussions
with them on Thursday.
The same view was reiterated by the British Foreign Secretary, David
Miliband during a telephone conversation with me on Friday.
"While congratulating the President and the Government for the clear
mandate received from the people, the British Foreign Secretary also
took note of the fact that over 70 percent of the people had cast their
vote, including the people of the North and the East.
He also expressed hope that the upcoming Parliamentary election would
be equally inclusive and democratic," the Minister said. |