Letter to the Chairman from the Secretary
of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
Thank you for your letter of 22 January about
the current situation in Sri Lanka.
We very much share the Committee's concerns
over the humanitarian crisis in the conflict area in northern
Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister made clear in Parliament on 14 January
that he wanted to see a ceasefire. In my statements of 29 and
31 January I called for a humanitarian ceasefire and repeated
this call when I spoke by telephone to President Rajapakse of
Sri Lanka on 30 January. In the topical debate on Sri Lanka in
Parliament on 5 February Bill Rammell again called for a humanitarian
ceasefire.
The continuing loss of civilian lives, including
through attacks on the medical facilities in the conflict area,
the suicide bombing that killed 29 civilians who had left the
conflict area on 9 February, and the killing of Tamils who have
apparently been trying to leave the conflict area, is a source
of great distress for all of us who want to see a peaceful future
for Sri Lanka.
Over 30,000 people have now been able to leave
the conflict area. But credible reports indicate that a substantial
number of people remain caught in the shrinking area where fighting
continues. They must all be considered at risk. Others have been
wounded and are in desperate need of medical treatment.
Humanitarian corridors must now be set up and
respected by both sides so that civilians have the opportunity
to move away from the conflict area and adequate humanitarian
assistance can be safely delivered. Wounded civilians must receive
the treatment they so urgently need. The UK continues to urge
all parties to abide by their obligations under international
humanitarian law.
We have also been urging the Sri Lankan Government
to launch a sustained drive to make progress on reaching a political
solution to the conflict that fully addresses the concerns of
all communities in Sri Lanka—Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.
Whilst we recognise the Government's need to root out terrorism
we have always been clear that there can be no military solution
to the conflict. Sustainable peace in Sri Lanka can only come
about through a fully inclusive political process.
You will have seen that the Prime Minister appointed
Des Browne as his Special Envoy for Sri Lanka on 12 February.
To date the Sri Lankan Government has rejected the appointment
of an envoy.[2]
This is disappointing news, but we continue to discuss the matter
with the Sri Lankan Government and are hopeful that Des Browne
will soon be in a position to play a full role. Our intention
is that he will focus his efforts on the immediate humanitarian
situation and on encouraging the Sri Lankan Government to launch
a sustained drive to reach a lasting political settlement to the
conflict.
You also mentioned human rights in your letter.
We continue to be concerned about the use of child soldiers by
paramilitary groups and the reports of abductions, disappearances
and extra-judicial killings of civilians. Over the past 6 weeks
media freedom has been under particular threat. A senior editor,
Lasantha Wickrematunge, was murdered in Colombo in broad daylight,
another was assaulted, and the broadcasting centre of an independent
TV station was destroyed by a well armed gang. No one has yet
been charged with any of these terrible crimes. Over recent months,
many prominent figures in the media and civil society have left
Sri Lanka in fear for their lives.
Prosecutions for such attacks are rare, feeding
a culture of impunity. The Sri Lankan Government has a direct
responsibility to tackle all human rights violations. Only by
ensuring that full and thorough investigations into such violations
are followed by successful prosecutions of those responsible will
the Government strengthen the rule of law and tackle this corrosive
culture of impunity. Alongside other international partners, we
are urging the Government to take clear-cut and rigorous action
to bring the perpetrators of human rights violations to justice.
19 February 2009
2 Despite phone conversations with me and meetings
with the HC in which the President said he would work with the
Envoy. Back
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