Sri Lanka’s outgoing pres. backs China over Hong Kong
Sri Lanka's outgoing President Maithripala Sirisena voiced strong support for the Chinese government's stance on the Hong Kong situation, and said he hopes that order and stability will return to the city as soon as possible.
Sirisena, who will leave his role on Monday following the outcome of the country's presidential election on Saturday, made the remarks in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in the capital, Colombo, last month.
"Sri Lanka has been watching the Hong Kong situation closely in recent months. The central government supports the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government in stopping violence and handling the situation properly. Sri Lanka strongly supports it," he said.
Sirisena, who has served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka since taking office in January 2015, reaffirmed his view that any outside interference in the Hong Kong issue should be avoided and stressed that Sri Lanka supports China's efforts to restore order in the city.
"Hong Kong is a part of China and the Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs, which should only be handled by the Chinese side and any external interference should not be allowed. Sri Lanka firmly opposes any external force manipulating or intervening in Hong Kong's affairs. Sri Lanka fully agrees with and supports China's efforts in stabilizing the Hong Kong situation as soon as possible. I wish China's Hong Kong will restore peace sooner rather than later," he said.
Sirisena will be replaced as president by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who swept to victory after capturing over 52 percent of the popular votes in Saturday's election.
(Source: Reuters)
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