- News>
- Asia
Chandrika pulls- out of UN conference after fiasco
Colombo, Sept 16: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga has pulled out of a United Nations Conference on Aids after losing a battle to the Prime Minister to address the general assembly, officials said today.
Colombo, Sept 16: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga has pulled out of a United Nations Conference on Aids after losing a battle to the Prime Minister to address the general assembly, officials said today.
Kumaratunga wrote to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan saying she was unable to attend the aids conference although she had earlier accepted the invitation.
The President was miffed that she was not invited to address the General Assembly while her arch rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, was slotted to speak before the same. Kumaratunga had wanted the privilege herself, arguing she as the executive head of state should be given priority by the United Nations. Kumaratunga's office said she complained to the Secretary General that the foreign ministry here had delayed sending her the invitations Sri Lanka had received from the United Nations.
"The President has explained to the Secretary General a contributory factor for her inability to attend was the inexplicable delay by Sri Lanka's permanent representative and the Foreign Ministry in transmitting the United Nations communication to her office," Kumaratunga's office said. "Another reason," she said, "was the present political situation in Sri Lanka, which makes it difficult to be away during this period."
However, in the letter Kumaratunga said, she looked forward to welcoming Annan to Sri Lanka later next month.
The President is in an uneasy cohabitation arrangement since her party lost the December 2001 parliamentary polls to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party.
Bureau Report
The President was miffed that she was not invited to address the General Assembly while her arch rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, was slotted to speak before the same. Kumaratunga had wanted the privilege herself, arguing she as the executive head of state should be given priority by the United Nations. Kumaratunga's office said she complained to the Secretary General that the foreign ministry here had delayed sending her the invitations Sri Lanka had received from the United Nations.
"The President has explained to the Secretary General a contributory factor for her inability to attend was the inexplicable delay by Sri Lanka's permanent representative and the Foreign Ministry in transmitting the United Nations communication to her office," Kumaratunga's office said. "Another reason," she said, "was the present political situation in Sri Lanka, which makes it difficult to be away during this period."
However, in the letter Kumaratunga said, she looked forward to welcoming Annan to Sri Lanka later next month.
The President is in an uneasy cohabitation arrangement since her party lost the December 2001 parliamentary polls to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party.
Bureau Report