Time for Britain to act, says UK Parliamentary group for Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 September 2008, 15:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s decision to bar foreign aid staff at this critical juncture from the Vanni region, when these internally displaced people most need help of the aid staff, begs the question whether the Government of Sri Lanka will ever adhere to international norms, said All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils in a statement issued on Tuesday. "Government of Sri Lanka should be made to realise that time for soft talking is over and it should be warned more tough actions will follow if it fails to fall in line with international norms and standards," the group said urging the British government to act.

Full text of the press release follows:

ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR TAMILS
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA

For Immediate Release

PRESS STATEMENT:

Sri Lanka’s decision to bar foreign aid staff – Britain must Act Now

The violence unleashed against the Tamil people and the suffering they have been subjected to by the Government of Sri Lanka, in the name of fight against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is inhumane and unacceptable. There are nearly a quarter of a million internally displaced Tamils in the Wanni region – the Tamil Tiger controlled areas. Sri Lanka’s decision to bar foreign aid staff at this critical juncture from these areas, when these internally displaced people most need help of the aid staff, begs the question whether the Government of Sri Lanka will ever adhere to international norms.

We, as a group of parliamentarians, who have always taken a keen interest on Tamil’s affairs, demand the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to not only to issue a public condemnation, but also to follow up with firm actions including UN sanctions.

Britain must act now! Government of Sri Lanka should be made to realise that time for soft talking is over and it should be warned more tough actions will follow if it fails to fall in line with international norms and standards.

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