No bowing to external pressure: Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka will not bow to external pressure and compromise on its sovereignty, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said today in a reference to an upcoming resolution at the UN Human Rights Council seeking a probe into alleged war crimes.
Addressing a gathering in the southwestern town of Matugama, about 75 km from here, he said, "They only talk about the last 30 days of the war (with the LTTE) when all that happened during 30 years is happily ignored.
"If one were to probe the last days of World War II, you could bring war crimes charges," Rajapaksa said, referring to efforts by the US to move the resolution at the UNHRC.

"We ended explosions all over the country - for that we are made to face bombs in Geneva every six months," he added.
Rajapaksa's comments coincided with the arrival in Colombo of US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal for discussions on the rights situation.
During a similar visit earlier this month by another top American official, Stephen J Rapp, it was said that the US resolution would press for an investigation into the last phase of the campaign against the LTTE in 2009.
The US resolution is due to come up at the UNHRC session in March. Two previous resolutions backed by India, which were adopted by the Council, sought commitments from Sri Lanka on reconciliation and rights accountability.

Sri Lanka contends that such action against it by the US and other Western powers is aimed at winning support from Tamils living in the West.