Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said that his country has a rich and proud record of safeguarding human rights.
Addressing a public gathering in the central town of Balangoda, Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka's human rights protection was inspired by the influence of Buddhism over a period of over 2,500 years.
Rajapaksa said his objective while appointing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was that he did not want the problems faced by the people carried forward to the next generation. The President said it was his responsibility to resolve all problems faced by his people.
He said LLRC was Sri Lanka's own probe and no one had the right to force its implementation. He did not want lessons on protecting human rights from outside. Rajapaksa's comments were his first direct public reaction since the UN Human Rights Council on March 22 adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka.
The resolution asks Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC recommendations towards reconciliation with the Tamil minority and for accountability over alleged rights violations.