The UNP today alleged that powerful nations joining forces and ensnaring Sri Lanka through a resolution was the collective result of the government sticking the “Tiger label” on every UN official visiting the island and every world leader calling for unity.   

The government has failed to see the path to escape that trap and is still “feeling around in the dark,” UNP Parliamentarian Wijedasa Rajapaksa said.

Five Sri Lankan Presidents waged war against terrorism since 1983 and it was their duty as the head of state. However, the words “war crimes” were not used against the country internationally or nationally until 2008-2009, he said.

The reason for that being those heads of state protected international diplomacy while fighting the war, he said.

Rajapaksa stated that by 2007 he personally informed the government that under the then prevailing system war crimes allegations will be directed at the country some day.

The main reason for that was the “unfortunate” manner in which certain government leaders dealt with the international community, he said. They especially openly challenged various powerful nations and as a result today all the influential countries in the world have been turned into adversaries of Sri Lanka, the UNP MP said.

Not only UK, US and Canada even our neighboring India have been turned into enemies, he told reporters in Colombo.

“We saw this coming,” Rajapaksa said, adding that due to this reason he submitted a proposal to Parliament in 2008 seeking to appoint a working committee to resolve the issue in the North and East.

The government disregarded it and rejected the proposal at that time but two years after the war ended remembered that the country needs such a system, he said.

The Colombo District MP and former the Bar Association head further accused the government of attempting to turn all international pressure into political advantage and using it to criticize the opposition, including the UNP.

He stated that it was the incumbent administration which created the policy of running and complaining to the UN human Rights Commission in Geneva “even for a headache” and not the opposition.

“This culture was created by the ruling government when they were in the opposition. We have never gone to Geneva and complained.”

He stated that when considering the troubles faced by the opposition in the recent past, the UNP would have had to visit Geneva 30-40 times already. “But we didn’t. We like to resolve our internal issues internally no matter how grueling it is.”

He, however, stated that if the government been in the opposition today under the prevailing condition they would be visiting Geneva at least once a week.