The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law
Lakmali Hemachandra argued that while Sri Lanka supports the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, it lacks the capacity to police the entire ocean and can only secure its territorial waters and EEZ. She said the Government and Navy acted on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with international law, rejecting Opposition claims that Sri Lanka had taken part in any military action such as assisting the United States against an Iranian ship. She maintained that Sri Lanka’s response enhanced its international reputation and urged rejection of what she described as Opposition distortions.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Please allow me a little time to conclude.
¶ 02 The Indian Ocean is a Zone of Peace. We have advanced that concept at the United Nations. If so, no ship should be attacked within the Indian Ocean. But Sri Lanka does not have the naval fleet, personnel or military capability to secure the entire Indian Ocean. We can secure our territorial sea and EEZ, but we cannot police the whole Ocean. What we can and must do is show humanity. We cannot undertake military intervention; we can and did undertake humanitarian intervention, showing the highest regard for international law and humanity. The Opposition cannot appreciate this and even feeds some foreign narratives that could be used against us. Despite the President’s and the Navy’s exemplary actions and the country’s enhanced reputation, they speak here as though we joined the U.S. to sink an Iranian ship. We strongly reject that. At a most difficult time, Sri Lanka has upheld humanity. Our people should be proud, and we should not heed the distortions of the Opposition.
¶ 03 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 6 March 2026 ·No. 23376 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 6 March 2026. No. 23376. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/5208