A Sri Lankan minister today accused the West of double standards following the terror attacks in Paris saying western nations must “learn” how Sri Lanka was able to defeat terrorism.
Minister of Transport Nimal Siripala de Silva said that countries which faulted Sri Lanka for “ending the LTTE’s terrorism” will now have to rethink their policy after the Paris attacks which killed 128 people yesterday.
“They came to teach us about good governance and democracy. They claimed that since there was no reconciliation Sri Lanka was not addressing the issues of minorities. Now I ask if the attacks that took place in France killing over 120 people was because there was no reconciliation? Terrorism is not like that, it goes beyond,” he said.
Sri Lanka came under international pressure from western nations during the final stages of the ethnic conflict against the LTTE in 2009 over alleged killing of civilians.
The US moved three resolutions against the island holding it accountable in the UN Human Rights Council for three successive years from 2012.
“Countries like France, UK and the US could not defeat terrorism but Sri Lanka was able to defeat terrorism. They must learn from us,” de Silva said.