Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said today that he will send his own representatives to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland.
Addressing a media briefing in Colombo, President Sirisena said these representatives are to appeal to the UNHRC that Sri Lanka should be allowed to handle its own issues.
"What I want to tell them is don't dig the past and re-open old wounds. Let us forget the past and ensure that we all live in peace", he said.
The Sri Lankan government had co-sponsored a resolution in 2015 to address war crimes and bring accountability while its progress is to come up for discussion during the ongoing session. The UN has acknowledged that Sri Lanka has taken positive initiatives to address human rights concerns and to introduce a more democratic and accountable government.These include the return of military-held civilian land, the establishment of an Office of Missing Persons and the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances.
Veering from diplomatic protocol
President Sirisena has named opposition MPs Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Samarasinghe along with Northern Province Governor Dr.Suren Rāghavan as his special representatives. However, informed sources from the Foreign Ministry suggest that this is a complete break in diplomatic protocol and norms, especially when the country's Foreign Minister is also excluded from the official delegation.
In January, President Sirisena took a group of SLFP MPs on state visit to the Philippines in which he held bilateral discussions with President Rodrigo Duterte and his delegation. Informed government sources said that the inclusion of SLFP MPs in the bilateral discussions was a “waste of time” as they had no authority to make decisions on behalf of the government nor did they wield any positional power. 
Several SLFP MPs., including Dilan Perera, Nishantha Mutuhettigama, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Dushmantha Mithrapala, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Angajan Ramanathan and Sriyani Wijewickrema were seen touring in the Philippines with President Maithripala Sriisena in January.
In the same month, President Sirisena again took SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera and S.B. Dissanayake, both opposition MPs,on an official visit to Singapore where he attended a number of events including a Forum of Asia Pacific Ministers and Environment Authorities.
Government sources point out that Sri Lanka will soon become the laughing stock among the diplomatic community if they resort to only nominating opposition MPs for official government delegations.
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