Govt. Rejects Oakland Report

The Sri Lankan government strongly rejects the recent report issued by the California-based Oakland Institute, said deputy foreign affairs minister Ajith P. Perera.

The report claims the military still occupied the north six years after the end of the war, and military presence in the province was at the rate of one solder per six civilians.

Meanwhile, provincial governor C.V. Vigneswaran has said the present government, just like its predecessors, had no intention of resolving the issue there.

Speaking during an interview via internet organized by Oakland Institute, he said the international community should pressurize the government to help the Tamils and minority political parties.

What the military has returned to civilians is barren land, while it still keeps the fertile land, he charged.

President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed him to use the hotel built in the north as a convention centre, he added.