Addressing a media conference in Colombo today at the end of his four-day visit to the island, Tokyo's special envoy to Sri Lanka Yasushi Akashi said there is a vital need to improve the human right situation in the country and asked the government to address the accountability issue in order to achieve the genuine reconciliation.
Akashi said that when he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa last Monday he emphasized the importance of building national reconciliation and the President has assured that his government is dedicated to implement it.
The special envoy however suggested a national mechanism is more suitable than an international mechanism to build reconciliation among the people of Sri Lanka.
Akashi expressed confidence that the government will publish the report of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) appointed by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to probe the events during the last seven years of war and implement the Commission's recommendations.
The LLRC handed over its report to the President on November 20. The President has promised to make the report a public document after presenting it to the parliament.
He said he had also pointed out that the resettlement, rehabilitation of former Tiger members and reconstruction of the North need to be carried out and the President had assured that a national action plan has been introduced for protection of human rights and it is being implemented now.
Akashi, while commending Sri Lanka's friendly relationship with the United Nations despite the existing differences, assured continued assistance of his government, one of the top aid givers to Sri Lanka, for the island's development.
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