Protect all Sri Lankans, Sirisena urged

New Delhi, Jan 9: A US-based rights group expressed the hope on Friday that Sri Lanka's president-elect Maithripala Sirisena will protect the rights of all citizens whatever their ethnicity or religion.

After President Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted defeat in the presidential election, Human Rights Watch said the new government should ensure "rights protections of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion".

It said Sirisena should reverse "the human rights setbacks of the previous administration (and) promote accountability" as well.

Rights groups have accused the Rajapaksa regime of killing innocent Tamils in the final stages of the war that destroyed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009.

IANS