The United National Party (UNP) has questioned the absence of a public condolence message from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake following a major mining disaster in China that has reportedly killed at least 82 people.

In a statement issued yesterday, former Director of International Affairs to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and current UNP Working Committee member Dinouk Colombage said the President’s silence raised concerns given the close relationship between Sri Lanka and China.

The statement noted that China had extended emergency assistance to Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah last year and argued that Colombo should have publicly expressed solidarity with Beijing following the incident.

“Shortly after the mining accident in China, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly extended his condolences to both the President and the people of China,” Colombage said.

He added that several other world leaders, including the leaders of Russia and Pakistan, had also issued public messages of condolence.

The UNP further claimed that the absence of a message from Sri Lanka reflected weaknesses in the foreign policy direction of the National People’s Power (NPP) Government.

“The silence of the President is a demonstration of the mismanaged foreign policy pursued by the NPP Government, which fails to recognise and nurture the broad spectrum of international relations Sri Lanka has developed since Independence and before,” the statement added.

The President’s Office had not publicly issued a statement regarding the disaster at the time of publishing.