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Sri Lanka

I agree, but let me identify some of the challenges that the Government face in trying to secure that resolution. The first comes from China. Britain and others have rightly reduced aid to Sri Lanka because of our opposition to some of its Government's measures, not just recently but over a number of years, and the Chinese have filled the vacuum. They are now sending £500 million of aid to Sri Lanka. We must tell them that it is not acceptable to give that amount of aid to a Government who are breaking international law. We must tell them—presumably quietly—that what they need to do in order to make amends is vote for a Security Council resolution. I believe that, with the Chinese and the Americans, we will bring the French and the Russians along as well. Other developments show how strong we need to be with the Government of Sri Lanka. The fact that the Iranians are sending £900 million of aid in soft loans, grants and cheap oil should tell us everything that we need to know about the current Sri Lankan regime: its biggest friends are in Tehran. Does Sri Lanka really want to put itself in that position? Does it want to isolate itself along with Iran? It used to be a fantastic country. It used to be more democratic. It used to uphold the rights of individuals and minorities. Now, through the way in which it is behaving both to its own people and internationally, it is putting itself in serious jeopardy. Last March, the State Department of the United States issued a report accusing the Sri Lankan Government of attacking civilians and practising torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking and extortion with impunity. That is the nature of the regime, and our calls today should be loud and unequivocal.