Brief comments on some sections of the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

Affairs (Alistair Burt) in the Westminster Hall debate on Sri Lanka on 08 January 2013, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130108/halltext/130108h0001.htm#130108190 00119 : 1.The difference of views expressed across the Chamber: Two factions- one faction that goes by the reports of national, regional and international organisations and the other that goes by the views of the Sri Lankan govt. . The contributions of colleagues with personal experience of reconciliation in parts of the UK were particularly important in bringing to the surface some of the difficulties involved. 2.in two weeks time, I will make my second visit to the country may we know the reason for the visit, Minister? The hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden suggested that my visit might be taken as a vindication of the Government. I assure her and the House that judging from experience over the past couple of years, my remarks are not always taken in that way by the Government, who are entitled to see them as they wish. I do not think that that is a particular risk. 3.It is helpful to visit and get a picture: No, it isnt so, Minister: i.foreign visitors are taken to the same camp and always accompanied by an army officer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzGj2hYoymo&feature=youtube_gdata ii. journalists may have to wait for weeks to get clearance from the Defence Secretary and have to tell them what you want to do seven days ahead and youll always be accompanied by an army officer: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/05/15/foreigners-barred-from-travelling-north/ 4.The decades-long war in Sri Lanka, devastated the country and deeply scarred its population i.Section of the population deeply-scarred by decades of oppression began the armed struggle leading to the war: http://www.scribd.com/doc/104705097/Conscientious-Sinhalese-Tell-LLRC ii. Our country devastated by a thirty-year war, two insurrections and racial riots is facing its gravest constitutional, legal and political crisis with democracy itself at stake http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/172opinion/24846-editorial-sri-lanka-faces-its-moment-of-truth.html 5. It is there that we will make our contribution to how the UN is going to repair what it failed to do in relation to the responsibility to protect, and we will follow that panels progress closely: the recent report may speak of the atrocities of the last phase of the war in 2009. But there are reports of 15 commissions/committees appointed by the present President in the last six years that are still with the President without being made public: http://www.scribd.com/doc/85007346/A-List-of-Commissions-of-Inquiry-and-Committees-Appointed-by-theGovernment-of-Sri-Lanka-2006-%E2%80%93-2012 This President followed the usual procedure of previous governments of decades of expert damage control exercise (possible because of collusion of members) at the UN thus protracting the conflict and continuing to oppress the ethnic minorities: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/005/2009/en Thus R2P is overdue in Sri Lanka to protect the ethnic minorities. 6. We are committed to and support the concept of responsibility to protect, which was supported by all UN member states in 2005: By 2005 there had been 57 yrs of socio-economic-cultural destruction through discrimination in education, employment and economic development by state institutions and by a series of statesponsored, anti-Tamil pogroms.

Ethnic Violence, Development and Human Rights, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights Consultation - Utrecht, 1-3 February 1985: 'Although there are many longstanding ethnic conflicts, and special focus on the relation between ethnic conflict and human rights has been long overdue, these two consultations were prompted by the continuously aggravating ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. This failure of intergovernmental organizations, based on the reticence of its membership, to look into the question of ethnic conflict early in the process, and to play a protective role, is very much at the heart of the problem. It has to be investigated how the United Nations could play a more preventive role, e.g. by giving ethnic minorities more recognized formal standing in United Nations organs and proceedings, by creating better opportunities for minorities to call on the United Nations, or by giving the United Nations an arbitration role in emerging conflicts. There is an immediate need for the creation of an independent group which would have the function of making clear and making widely known the present serious condition of the Tamil people and their genuine demands. It is important that such a group should maintain its independence from the Tamil groups who are presently shouldering this burden and attempting to fulfil this function alone. 7. The above-mentioned would have obviated the birth of: The LTTE is a brutal, ruthless organisation 8. The absence of conflict has brought greater security .: Only the war is over and the conflict goes on unabated: When the war ended in May 2009, it was the worst that was over, but the ethnic conflict that spans more than five decades is not yet over (Learning from Japan to build a culture of peace, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, 14 November 2011). The government refusing to hold electons for Northern Province is not absence of conflict. In fact the parliament has just passed a Bill that takes away the devolved powers of the provincial council. 9.The UK recognises and welcomes progress made in various areas. UK officials have visited all nine provinces of Sri Lanka in the past 12 months and have seen much to welcome: The attention of successive governments including the present one on economic development has been in the seven provinces other than the North and the East(submissions by conscientious Sinhalese to LLRC). That is one of the reasons why a section of Tamils has been moving out of the North and the East into other provinces in the last six decades. Our concern right now is the impediment of the Sinhalese Governors of the Northern and Eastern Provinces in areas of economic development other than those of tourism. The occupation army of the North is engaged in agriculture, fishing and tourism trade and in competition with the local people trying to recover from the ravages of the war (SRI LANKAS NORTH II: REBUILDING UNDER THE MILITARY, International Crisis Group, March 2012) Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 31 October 2012). 10.although there is still work to be done in ensuring that permanent homes means just that, and does not mean people being deposited in places that they came from ignorantly or maliciously hides the fact that many of those IDPs in Menik Farm were prevented from returning to their original Eastern and Northern coastal areas but have been forcefully deposited in partially-cleared jungles and the coastal areas have been either sold to tourism businessmen or Sinhalese fishermen or taken up by army and navy camps. Sri Lanka is now a Hillsborough for Tamils (Sri Lanka: A hidden displacement crisis, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, October 2012) 11. When I go to Sri Lanka in a couple of weeks, I will see if Sri Lanka will consider implementing all the recommendations and, if so, how to take it forward. Dear Minister, please look into this while your are there: Donors' aid for the North is with the Presidential Task Force for Northern Development at the Central Government and not easily accessible to the people in the North (DISPELLING PERCEPTIONS OF UNCARING GOVERNMENT IN THE NORTH, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, July 2012) 12.It is too soon to talk about our attendance plans for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. We will not move from that position for a period of time: It is not too early to state the criteria under which the British government will attend. 13.To reopen that decision would require a consensus of all member states: We wish to know the opinion of the British government. The failure of any government to state its opinion is a failure to help the spread of democracy.

14. it will inevitably shine a spotlight on the host country: Many international and regional organisations have been making recommendations for decades to the international community on how to deal with the Sri Lankan government to change its behaviour but most of them have been ignored by most countries, thus letting Sri Lanka continue the oppression of its minorities.