The Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka noting that freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are pillars of any democratic society, when they remain peaceful, encouraged all parties to continue acting with restraint and find constructive and democratic ways out of the crisis.
The Delegation of the European Union issued a joint statement together with the diplomatic missions of EU Member States Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania and with the diplomatic missions of Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom regarding the current situation in the island nation.
Following is the full statement:
Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are pillars of any democratic society, when they remain peaceful. We therefore encourage all parties to continue acting with restraint. We consider the end of the state of emergency as a positive step.
We call on all parties to explore constructive and democratic ways out of the current crisis that has taken its toll on the Sri Lankan people.
We stress the extreme urgency of the situation, which requires the authorities to start in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the reforms needed to bring the Sri Lankan economy back to a sustainable path.