President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the situations of the countries which were subjected to foreign interferences are worse today than before.
“Those countries are more chaotic, and it is the only thing that had happened. We must work together to overcome obstacles including unjustified external forces,” President Rajapaksa told the Namibian Prime Minister Hage Geingob in Namibia.
The statement issued by the President’s office also said:
The meeting between the President and the Namibian Prime Minister took place at Hotel Los Tajibos today. President Rajapaksa is currently visiting Santa Cruz in Bolivia to attend the Golden Jubilee of the G77. During the meeting, Prime Minister Geingob extended the good wishes of his President Hifikepunye Pohamba to President Rajapaksa.
President Rajapaksa, apprising the Namibian Prime Minister of the progress achieved by Sri Lanka following the end of the conflict, pointed out that the country has done much work in the areas of resettling internally displaced persons, rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-combatants, releasing ex-child soldiers and developing infrastructure within a short span of time.
“We were able to hold provincial council elections in the North,” the President said. “We have appointed commissions for national reconciliation. One is the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and the other one is the Presidential Commission to Investigate Complaints Regarding Missing Persons. People live in peace. The only ones who are unhappy are the politicians and forces against the Country.”
The Namibian Prime Minister, explaining the similar situation his country is faced with, expressed his gratitude to President Rajapaksa for Sri Lanka’s assistance extended towards Namibia.
Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratne, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Cuba Mr. Sarath Dissanayake were also present at the discussion.
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
