UNESCO has no mandate to comment on internal matters: Sri Lanka
Colombo,
Dec
23:
Sri
Lanka
has
categorically
stated
that
UNESCO
should
not
express
its
views
on
the
subjects
where
it
niether
has
the
competence
nor
the
mandate.In
a
letter
to
Director
General
of
UNESCO,
Koichiro
Matsuura,
the
government
said
the
conflict
in
Sri
Lanka
was
a
complex
political
issue
on
which
UNESCO
should
refrain
from
making
comments.
Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Paris, Chitranganee Wagiswara, said though UNESCO had made a contribution in inter-sectoral activities in the various domains of the UN aimed at countering terrorism, this did not give a ''carte blanche'' to the Director General to comment on specific situations of the member states.
The drawing of parity between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in the context of a domestic peace process would not fall within UNESCO's contribution to the Counter Terrorism Implementational Task Force.
The letter was written in response to Mr Matsuura's statement in which he had condemned the Sri Lanka Government for bombing and destroying the clandestine Voice of Tigers Radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and killing the journalists and civilians.
UNI