NZ welcomes reconciliation moves in Sri Lanka

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the Sri Lankan Government’s announcement it will establish a Truth & Reconciliation Commission to help the country recover from its decades-long civil war.

“New Zealand welcomes the measures announced by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week,” Mr McCully says.

“They constitute a significant step towards genuine reconciliation and political devolution for Sri Lankans, something New Zealand has been encouraging.

“The policies announced, such as establishing an office to assist people who lost family members in the civil war and negotiating a new Constitution that reflects Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious diversity, demonstrate a serious and constructive approach to resolving some of the most challenging issues facing the country.

“We expect these measures will help reconciliation and devolution, particularly among Tamil communities in the North and East of the country," Mr McCully says.