Sri Lankan minister ends hunger strike outside UN office

London, July 11 (ANI): The construction minister of Sri Lanka, Wimal Weerawansa, who was on a fast unto death outside the United Nations office ended his protest after President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited him.

According to the BBC, the president took a glass of water, pressed it to the lips of the prostrate Weerawansa and made him sip.

The report also stated that ending a fast-unto-death on the third day is not uncommon in South Asia and many Sri Lankans will now be confirmed in their view that this was an elaborate and diplomatically unfortunate publicity stunt.

Sri Lanka has set up its own panel on the lessons of the war and the government believes the behaviour of its troops does not need to be scrutinised by external forces.

On Thursday, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon recalled his top envoy to the island, Neil Buhne, and closed a regional office in Colombo over the protest.

Ten embassies in Colombo issued a joint statement condemning the demonstrations, which they said would harm Sri Lanka's reputation on the international stage. (ANI)