JDSLanka

UK’s Labour Party urges Cameron to ‘cut short’ Sri Lanka’s ultimatum

Calling for an independent international inquiry into wide-spread human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, the Britain’s main opposition Labour Party on Friday urged Prime Minister David Cameron to “cut short” his ultimatum given till March 2014 to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to complete an internal impartial inquiry.

After a meeting with the British Tamil community leaders, UK’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander has told reporters that “2014 could be a crucial year for accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, given the growing calls for an independent, international war crimes inquiry to be established”.

“Labour is today urging the Prime Minister to immediately join our call for an international led inquiry into human rights and cut short the deadline of March 2014 that he has granted to President Rajapaksa,” MP Douglas Alexander said.

Being the most vocal critic of Sri Lanka's worsening human rights record Prime Minister Cameron, during the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, issued a public ultimatum to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his hawkish coalition government to complete a credible independent internal inquiry to avoid international war crime probe.

“Let me be very clear. If an investigation is not completed by March, then I will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commission and call for a full credible and independent international inquiry," Mr Cameron told reporters in Colombo hours after his visit to the war-ravaged Northern province.

It is in March 2014 that the UN Human Rights Commission will next meet to assess Sri Lanka's progress on addressing human rights abuses including allegations of war crimes.

Pressing, however, for more substantial outcome, MP Douglas Alexander wowed that “working with the Tamil community here in the UK, Labour will continue to highlight these issues and urge action from the Government of Sri Lanka”.

“Sadly David Cameron left Colombo with no improvements in Human Rights secured, and along with the Tamil community here in the UK, Labour will not let the matter rest,” the Shadow Foreign Secretary said.

International tribunal on Sri Lanka’s genocide

Notably, these remarks by the British Shadow Foreign Secretary has come barely a day before the renowned Rome-based Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) commenced its judicial proceedings in Bremen, Germany “to hear accusations of genocide against the Sri Lankan State and charges of complicity with this crime against several other countries”, including the UK, the US and India.

This is the second such high-profile session to be conducted by the PPT on Sri Lanka. The proceedings willl take place from 7th to 10th.

The first phase of the Tribunal, held in January 2010 in Dublin, was the first ever international effort to investigate the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the final stages of the protracted conflict in Sri Lanka.

“Like in the first session, a respected panel of judges consisting of experts in genocide studies, former UN-officials, experts in international law and renowned peace and human rights activists will hear the evidence that is presented and make a determination,” Secretary General of the PPT Gianni Tognoni said in a statement.

At the end of the first session of the PTT session on Sri Lanka, the panel of judges had determined, that ‘War Crimes’ and ‘Crimes against Humanity’ had taken place on the Tamil population during the final months of the war in Sri Lanka.

© JDS