UK Parliamentary question on Sri Lanka

The United Kingdom’s Minister of State responsible for South Asia, Dr. Kim Howells, discussed President Rajapakse’s proposal in response to a parliamentary question.

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK Government is taking to assist the government and people of Sri Lanka (a) to achieve a lasting internal peace agreement and (b) to promote civil and political rights for all citizens.

Dr. Howells: Throughout the escalation in violence over recent months we have made our concerns clear in meetings at the highest levels, with the Government of Sri Lanka and also with political representatives ofthe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. President Rajapakse, Foreign Minister Samaraweera, and senior Sri Lankan officials met my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Chequers on 31 August 2006. The talks focused on the internal security situation in Sri Lanka and the state of the peace process. We are also in close contact with the Government of Norway as the peace process facilitators and we make clear to both sides our full support of their efforts.

We have been deeply concerned following the reports of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, the International Commission of Jurists, about the deteriorating human rights situation in the North and East. Any abuse is to be deplored. We welcome President Rajapakse’s proposal to,

“invite an international independent commission to probe abductions, disappearances and extra-judicial killings in all areas of the country”.

We agree with the United Nations Special Rapporteur, on extra-Judicial killings, Philip Alston’s, statement that the commission must be independent, credible and effective and that the advice of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights would facilitate the establishment of such a commission.