By Vindya Amaranayake
The international community is welcome to provide Sri Lanka with assistance, but it should be according to the wishes of the people of this country, including the people of the North, Senior Presidential Advisor and MP Basil Rakapaksa said in a message to the international community.

“If they want to be our friends, then they should be genuine friends. We do not want ‘monitors,’ we need partners. Be our partners in this task to help our people,” Rajapaksa said.

He expressed the government’s gratitude towards the countries that have already pledged support and added, “We will have discussions with them. And, if it is purely money, meant for the development of the people and the country, we will accept it. Otherwise, we will not. We have learnt our lesson. We will not forget it. For the last 30 years, this country suffered. Our position is, we do not want Trojan Horses. We will not accept that.”

Highlighting that ‘international community’ does not signify just a handful of nations, he emphasised that many nations across the globe helped Sri Lanka defeat terrorism. He also said although one or two individuals in a country criticise the Sri Lankan Government, it does not mean the people of that country are not sympathetic towards Lanka’s fight against terrorism.
Rajapaksa stressed the point that it was the people of this country, and not the members of the international community, who had to endure the bitter civil war for nearly three decades and therefore, they know the pain of that suffering more than anyone else. “The international community must understand that it is we, the people of this country, who had to endure this problem. There is nobody else, who understands the repercussions and the sufferings than us. The suffering was not confined to the individual communities of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or the Burghers. Every single person in this country suffered. Not those who are outside the country.”

(See a comprehensive interview with Basil Rakapaksa)