අමාත්‍යාංශයේ මාධ්‍ය නිවේදන

The Government of Sri Lanka strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Egyptian security and military personnel in North Sinai last week that claimed the lives of 31 soldiers and injured several others.

The people of Sri Lanka, who had suffered immensely under the yoke of terrorism for almost three decades, share the pain and anguish of the Egyptian people over this brazen act of terrorism.

This incident is a stark reminder of the danger that terrorism poses to all humanity, and highlights the urgent need for decisive and concerted action by the international community to eradicate this menace in all its forms and manifestations.

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The Ministry of External Affairs is surprised at some of the recent statements on the outcome of the case filed by the LTTE in 2011 at the General Court of the European Union in which the Council of the European Union was the defendant supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the European Commission as interveners. These statements by interested parties are based on an inaccurate premise.

The Ministry of External Affairs wishes to state that from the outset of the case being filed, legal advice and expert opinion were sought from within the European Union system and specialist European lawyers. Accordingly, the Government of Sri Lanka took action in the most effective manner available, by providing material of a substantive nature to the defendant and the interveners on a regular basis. This was in accordance with Sri Lanka being a non-member state of the European Union and having therefore to meet special conditions, contrary to the national interest of Sri Lanka, in order to be allowed to intervene itself in cases before the General Court of the European Union.

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Rear Admiral J.V. Bainimarama, the newly elected Prime Minister of Fiji has acknowledged the immense debt Fiji owes to Sri Lanka, in his inaugural speech on 13^th October 2014 at the Parliament House in Suva, following the convincing victory of his Fiji First Party at the general elections held last month, in which it secured 59.2% of the popular vote.

In his address to the Parliament, Prime Minister Bainimarama, while thanking the members of the Fijian Judiciary, judges and magistrates paid special tribute to Sri Lanka for providing an invaluable service by sending judges and magistrates at Fiji’s time of need. The Prime Minister stated:

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The Government of Sri Lanka has noted with concern the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 16^th October, to annul the EU regulations proscribing the LTTE. The defendants of this case have been the Council and Commission of the European Union, together with two member states, the Netherlands and the UK.

Expectedly, the ECJ judgment requires in-depth study by all the defendant parties. It is noteworthy that the Court has stressed the annulments to be “on fundamentally procedural grounds” and “do not imply any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of the LTTE as a terrorist group.” Further it is observed from the decision of the ECJ that “the effects of the annulled measures are maintained temporarily in order to ensure the effectiveness of any possible future freezing of funds”.

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Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, called on Mr. Joko Widodo, President-elect of Indonesia, who will be inaugurated as Indonesia’s Head of State on 20^th October.  Minister Peiris conveyed to President-elect Widodo, the warm felicitations and good wishes of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a happy and successful tenure of the new Presidency.

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Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, held bilateral discussions with Mr. Yun Byung-se, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea on the sidelines of the Democracy  Forum in Bali, Indonesia.

The talks focused on trade and investment, as well as cooperation on political issues and the expansion of employment opportunities for Sri Lankans in the Republic of Korea.

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Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, in his address at the Indian Ocean Rim Association Council of Ministers Meeting in Perth, Western Australia, described IORA as a unique organisation, encompassing nations across three continents, connecting over two and a half billion people and offering many opportunities for collaboration across numerous spheres of shared interest.

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