Stresses need for religious amity
February 4, 2013, 12:00 pm 
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday reminded the West that Sri Lanka respected the United Nations Charter, which stipulated the upholding of the principle of sovereign equality of all members and expected other member nations to respect its sovereignty as a member state.
In his address to the nation, on the 65th Independence anniversary celebrations, held in Trincomalee, the President said that nothing contained in the present Charter either authorised the UN to intervene in matters which were essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or required the members to submit such matters to settlement.
President Rajapaksa said: "Along with gaining independence in 1948 we were able to be seated as an equal member of the United Nations Organisation. Article 2 of the United Nations Charter states that the organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. I shall now quote it, ‘1.
The Organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members, 2. All Members shall refrain, in their international relations, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, 3. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter."
President Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy remained non-aligned and the country had been building up new relationships while remaining within that policy.
He said that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy was that of non-alignment and it was necessary for the country to build a new era in foreign affairs based on that policy, which was essential for the freedom of Sri Lanka. In addition to traditional relations Sri Lanka had established new links with Asian, African, Arab and Latin American countries, he added.
Development and reconciliation would serve as the best answer against the anti-Sri Lanka propaganda carried out in foreign countries, he said adding "We respond to the publicity against Sri Lanka carried out abroad by inviting foreign countries to come to Sri Lanka. We have seen that the best answer to false publicity and propaganda, carried out in foreign countries is development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Do not believe something just because it is said, because you have read reports, critics have said it or the media has published it. We tell the people of the world – Come! Come Over and See for yourselves!"
He vowed that the government would not leave any room for racism and religious differences in the country. "It is necessary to state on this occasion that as much as racism, religious differences too can be a cause for the destruction of a country. If anyone is trying to build religious rivalry in Sri Lanka again, they do not serve their religion, but serve the interests of separatism in the country. We cannot leave room for what could not be achieved through terrorism to be gained by this."
"We are a nation that has suffered immensely for freedom. All political parties in this country should understand this. It is not only the Government, but the Opposition too has the responsibility to safeguard this freedom we have won. Protecting the country and building reconciliation is not support extended to the Government or the Opposition. It is support given to the country. It is doing one’s duty by the land of one’s birth," the President said.
