President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Colombo, May 2 (IANS) International “conspiracies” under the guise of human rights will not be allowed to break Sri Lankans’ unity, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said.

Addressing a May Day rally Tuesday in Colombo, the Sri Lankan president said “the unity of working people is essential to rebuild this nation”.

“I am confident that you will not deviate from this task and I promise that no outside influences will de-rail the intentions of this government with talk over human rights,” Xinhua quoted the president as saying.

Meanwhile, at the Opposition’s May Day rallies in the country, the Sri Lankan government was urged by opposition parties to release jailed former army commander Sarath Fonseka.

Fonseka, who challenged Rajapaksa during the 2010 presidential election, was sentenced to an additional three years in prison after his sentence expired in January 2012.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) deputy leader Sajith Premadasa called for “unconditional release” of Fonseka who has filed an appeal for bail.

Besides, the country’s main Tamil party — Tamil National Alliance — reiterated their demand for a political solution through power devolution from the central government on this day.