January 16, 2013 | Colombo Gazette
The United Nations (UN) remained silent when asked
about the appointment of new Chief Justice Mohan Peiris yesterday while the US
State Department, for a second day running, reiterated its concerns on Sri
Lanka.
Asked about the appointment of the new Chief Justice,
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York that the UN was aware of
the developments but had no comment as yet.
“No, we don’t have any comment at this time. We
are obviously aware of the media reports, and if that changes and we have
something to say, I’ll certainly let you know,” Nesirky said in response to a
question posed by Inner City Press.
Meanwhile US State Department spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland said that the US is concerned about the perception of reprisals against
somebody for independent thinking and action.
“We had made clear throughout this impeachment that we
were concerned about what it said about the democratic process that we were,
concerned about the perception of reprisals against somebody for independent
thinking and action. So those concerns remain with regard to the quality of Sri
Lankan democracy,” she told reporters yesterday.
On Monday Nuland had warned that the impeachment of
the former Chief Justice may impact foreign investments to Sri Lanka.
Asked yesterday on the same issue during the daily
State Department briefing, Nuland said “As I said yesterday, that this entire
issue also serves to undermine the international reputation of Sri Lanka as it
pertains to investment decisions that foreign companies might make, so there is
usually a cost to this kind of thing in terms of their ability to attract
foreign investment,” she said.
Asked if it will have an impact on US investments to
Sri Lanka, Nuland said she was not aware of that and had to check on the
current US assistance situation with Sri Lanka. (Colombo Gazette)
