Samarasinghe says talking about int’l conventions cost him FM post

Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training Mahinda Samarasinghe says that not only the incumbent unity government, but even the previous governments had to agree to certain conventions to gain Generalised System of Preferences-Plus (GSP-Plus) from the EU and this government has only had to do implement them. 

However, he stated that conventions are implemented in order to promote rights in the country and not to fulfill the needs of the international community. He also said that GSP Plus is not granted permanently. 

 Addressing a media briefing in Colombo today (19), the minister said that no country has ever implemented all 27 international conventions and that no proposal for a federal solution has been included in them. 

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will not agree to any proposal pertaining to a federal solution, he said. 

Samarasinghe said that these conventions also existed during the previous government and that he directly informed then President Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the importance of implementing them. He claims that is why he lost his post as Foreign Minister. 

He said that turning a deaf ear to foreign policies is one of the reasons of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat and that international pressure was a factor in the toppling of the government.