President Maithripala Sirisena said he would not allow anyone in the international community to lay hands on former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya or any of the Sri Lankan 'war heroes' over alleged war crimes.

"The issue involving Jayasuriya is not a domestic matter. But, I must say that I will not any foreign party to lay their hands on our country. I am not ready to dance to the beat of NGOs. But, I am ready to work with NGOs that love our country," President Sirisena said, addressing the 66th anniversary ceremony of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held at Campbell Park, Colombo.

"There are problems in the government. There are shortcoming. But we should move forward while addressing them."

"There are problems over rising cost of living, unemployment and other similar matters. But, when compared to the issues we faced in the international domain, these are not insurmountable. We have saved the country from the allegations it dealt with in the international arena. We are in a position to resolve other issues as well," the President said.

He added that a unity government with the UNP was not formed for a musical chair contest.

"We did not do it for fun. We had some burning issues which needed urgent solutions. That was our agenda," Sirisena explained.

The President said he was ready to celebrate the party anniversary with what he termed the 'patriotic forces'.