Date : 05/01/2008
PARIS, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- France has officially warned Sri Lanka about the
impact of its decision to break-off an almost six-year old cease fire on the
island and also urged Colombo to improve its human rights performance,
government sources said here.
French Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, Rama Yade,
late on Friday received Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Sri Lankan Minister for
Human Rights and Natural Disasters for talks and told him of France's
dissatisfaction with Sri Lanka in the above areas.
"Madame Rama Yade expressed France's regrets faced with the rupture of the
cease-fire signed in 2002 (with Tamil rebels). She recalled it was more than
ever time for dialogue and a political solution, the only option capable of
guaranteeing a fair and lasting peace in Sri Lanka," a Foreign Ministry
statement said.
Yade also expressed French "concern" over the human rights situation in Sri
Lanka and "called for increased cooperation by the Sri Lankan authorities with
the mechanism of the United Nations."
In particular, the statement added, the French official said that Sri
Lanka, because of its democratic character, must carry out the fight against
terrorism with full "respect for internationally-recognized norms in this area
and relative to the principles of a state of laws."
France also called upon the Sri Lankan authorities to shed light on the
murky circumstances surrounding the murder of seventeen humanitarian workers
from "Action against Hunger," who were murdered in 2006. (end)
jk.ema
KUNA 050900 Jan 08NNNN