We are not surprised by the move of certain member states for their action against Sri Lanka, Dew Gunasekera said.
In an apparent reference to India, Sri Lanka today said "certain domestic compulsions" had forced some of its neighbours and traditional friends to vote against it at the UNHRC censuring Colombo for alleged rights abuses during the civil war against LTTE.
Slamming the US-sponsored resolution adopted yesterday by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Sri Lanka said it had countered the cardinal principle of international law.
With 24 votes for, 15 against and 8 abstentions, the UNHRC adopted the resolution which noted with concern that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), an internal inquiry report in Sri Lanka, does not adequately address "serious allegations" of violations of international law during the final stages of the ethnic conflict between the Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE.
However, Acting Foreign Minister Dew Gunasekera told parliament that external mechanisms should be only resorted to when domestic remedies are exhausted.
"We are not surprised by the move of certain member states for their action against Sri Lanka," Gunasekera said, adding that same nations had attempted to provide a lifeline to the LTTE by forcing the ending of the military campaign.
On India's backing of the US Gunasekera said: "We are mindful of certain domestic compulsions that forced some of our neighbours and traditional friends to act in the way they did".
"We will not under any circumstances allow others to impose on us their advice or solutions," he underlined.
India had initially shown reluctance to vote on a nation-specific resolution but had to change its stand under severe pressure from political parties in Tamil Nadu, particularly DMK which had threatened to pull out its ministers from the UPA government at the Centre.
Hitting out at the US for sponsoring the UNHRC resolution, a top Lankan minister demanded the shutting down of the VOA station in the country which was being used for "intelligence gathering".
"I demand that we shut down the Voice of America (VOA) station if the US continued in their action to harass us with hostile acts," said Minister of Construction Wimal Weerawansa, who is also the leader of National Freedom Front, a constituent party of the ruling coalition.
"VOA get out of Sri Lanka. They use this station for intelligence gathering," he told a rally in the central town of Kandy.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan media reacted bitterly to the efforts to isolate the country on the rights issue and India, which voted against Colombo, "is a loser' as New Delhi had failed to carry other South Asian nations with it.
"India has failed to carry Asia, or at least South Asia with it. In other words, Sri Lanka has won against India in Asia," the pro-government newspaper 'Island' commented in lead, screaming that India had joined US to defeat Lanka.
Most of the papers still saw a sliver-lining in the gloom despite US sponsored resolution being carried through as they claimed "Might overrules the right", and said that China and Russia had stood with Sri Lanka.
"The cornered badger bravely fought the mastiffs of neo-imperialism and went on fighting yesterday," the Island said.
It said that the Indian intervention had resulted in the inclusion of key operative words in the resolution which were more acceptable to Sri Lanka.
Commenting on India's decision to back the resolution, it said by doing so the Indian government had "plunged country into an unholy diplomatic and political mire".
"India has been a loser in Geneva, though it helped the US win," it said.
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