U.S. hints Sri Lanka is moving toward despotic rule

At Monday, 14 January media briefing at the United States Department of State when an accredited media personnel asked spokesperson Victoria Nuland whether Sri Lanka was moving toward an "authoritarian regime kind of thing" following the impeachment and removal of the country's Chief Justice, without dismissing the notion totally she provided a circuitous answer closer to the sentiment that surrounded the media personnel's question.

Ms. Nuland's answer was " we think that there are serious questions about the health and future of Sri Lanka’s democracy and that they really need to roll up their sleeves and work on it."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's official media spokesperson reminded that not only the Unites States but also U.K., Canada, the EU and the UN have all issued statements expressing strong concern about the (impeachment) process.

Following is the excerpts of the dialogue that went at the Washington media briefing:

Question: Now that the Sri Lankan chief justice has been removed by the President following her impeachment, what do you have to say now on this?

Ms. Nuland: Well, we are deeply concerned about the impeachment of Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The impeachment proceedings against her were conducted, as you know, in defiance of the Supreme Court order. And from our perspective, this impeachment raises serious questions about the separation of powers in Sri Lanka, which is a fundamental tenet of a healthy democracy.

Throughout these proceedings, we’ve repeatedly conveyed to the Government of Sri Lanka our concern that there was a lack of due process, and we’ve also made very clear our view that actions undermining an independent judiciary would impact on Sri Lanka’s ability to attract foreign investment.

I would also note that we weren’t alone in our concern. The United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, and the United Nations have all issued statements expressing strong concerns about this process.
Question: Do you believe, by such measures, you think Sri Lanka is moving towards an authoritarian regime kind of thing?

Ms. Nuland: Look, we think that there are serious questions about the health and future of Sri Lanka’s democracy and that they really need to roll up their sleeves and work on it.

- Asian Tribune -