Sri Lanka offers us an elephant and John Key questions the need for an inquiry

Prime Minister John Key has opted for a conciliatory stance in Sri Lanka as other leaders call for an international inquiry. On Q+A this morning Mr Key questioned the benefit of such an inquiry, saying the real question for Sri Lanka is whether as the military withdraw from the Tamil north of the country, can the country arrive at a ‘peaceful long term position’.

Meanwhile the country’s Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, brother of Sri Lanka’s president, told Q+A the country’s own enquiries had punished people on both sides. Why, he asked, did the international community want the review to be only ‘for one side’.

Asked about Green MP Jan Logie who was detained in Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission about human rights abuses, Mr Rajapaksa said ‘there are immigration laws’ and if she wanted to come she could do so ‘in a proper way’.

He said he appreciated New Zealand’s position, and praised this country’s development projects in the north of Sri Lanka and said the country was hoping to gift an elephant to a New Zealand zoo as a momento of the relationship.

Hone Hawira says his door is always open to the Maori Party
Mana Party Leader Hone Harawira says Maori people want the Maori Party to ‘get away from National”.

But Mr Harawira said he didn’t think that was going to happen in a hurry.

“Maori people are saying they want Mana and Maori to get together,” he said on TVNZ’s Q+A programme this morning.

He would not be drawn on his relationship with Maori Party co-Leader Te Ururoa Flavell, other than to say ‘my door is always open’.

Meanwhile Mr Harawira is planning to talk to the Government whips to see if he can get his so called ‘Feed the Kids’ bill at least to the committee stages to allow it to be properly examined.

Watch the full interview here.

NBR Staff
Sun, 17 Nov 2013

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Sri Lanka offers us an elephant and John Key questions the need for an inquiry