Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera told reporters yesterday the international community was not obsessed with foreign judges.

The issue of a ‘hybrid court’ with the participation of local and foreign judges has caused furore in the domestic political circles, with both the Prime Minister and the President swearing against it.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera was the latest to wade in, saying the issue of foreign judges was not the sole obsession of the international community – nor yet the government.

“As a sovereign nation Sri Lanka is not obliged to adhere to the recommendations,” he said. “The final call is with us.”

He added that the only reason the topic of the participation of foreign judges in the transitional justice process had come up was because the international community had had no faith in a domestic mechanism.

“Countries have now expressed their trust in the Sri Lankan Government. Even the permanent members of the UN Security Council expressed their confidence in the Sri Lanka government. Our request for a two-year extension was readily agreed to because the international community had faith in the new Sri Lankan government,” he said.