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Sri Lanka

My Lords, with permission I shall now repeat a Statement made in another place by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. The Statement is as follows: "Mr Speaker, with your permission I will make a Statement about the civilian crisis in Sri Lanka. I returned this morning from a visit there with the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner. I regret that the Sri Lankan authorities declined to allow our Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, to join us. Our visit to Sri Lanka was prompted by our increasing concern for civilians in the north of the country, particularly the plight of the civilian Tamil population. There are in fact two crises: that of the civilians trapped in the conflict zone as the Government enter the final stage of their fight with the LTTE terrorists, and that of the tens of thousands of civilians who have crossed over the front line in recent days. The purpose of the visit was twofold: first, to highlight the need to bring the conflict to an end in a way that minimises further civilian casualties; and, secondly, to press the need for a long-term political settlement that meets the aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Kouchner and I met President Rajapakse, Foreign Minister Bogollagama, the leader of the Opposition and Tamil and Muslim mainstream politicians. I am grateful for the way the Sri Lankan Government facilitated our visit. We were briefed by the heads of the main UN agencies and the ICRC. We also visited a government-run camp for internally displaced people at Vavuniya and visited a field hospital donated by the French Government. I heard a number of personal testimonies from recent arrivals in the camp. The fog of war makes it difficult to be certain of the facts of the present situation. That is compounded by the lack of access for international agencies and the media. I heard widely different estimates of the number of civilians still trapped in the conflict zone. Government estimates ranged from 6,000 to 20,000; the UN, ICRC and most others reckon that there were at least 50,000, and some thought that the number could be as high as 100,000. Whatever the truth, it is clear that significant numbers remain, living under appalling conditions, undernourished and in fear for their lives. I heard reports of civilians hiding in trenches to escape the shelling and of horrific injuries. I also spoke to people in the IDP camps who recounted how the LTTE had forced them to stay in the so-called no-fire zone against their will, and shot at them when they tried to flee. We were told that 30 tonnes of food were delivered to the conflict zone between 1 April and 27 April, apparently enough to feed 60,000 people for just one day. A further ship delivered limited supplies during our visit. The ICRC has only been able to send in very limited medical supplies, despite having plentiful stocks in Sri Lanka. The block on deliveries of food and medical supplies hinges on security. To deliver these essentials to those innocent civilians trapped in the conflict zone, there needs to be safety. Ships take time to unload and the pauses provided by the Sri Lankan Government have not been long enough. As the House knows, the Government of Sri Lanka declared an end to combat operations on 27 April; the President and Defence Secretary confirmed that to me personally and in definite terms. Those commitments must be upheld. In our discussions with the President and the Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner and I made it clear that the protection of civilians must be paramount. We emphasised that if the LTTE had any heart at all, it would let the civilians leave the conflict zone. As G8 Foreign Ministers said in their statement of 25 April, we were very clear that the time for the conflict to end is now. We were briefed in detail by the Sri Lankan authorities on their humanitarian relief efforts outside the conflict zone. We welcomed that exchange of information, the extensive work that was under way and the commitments made. Nevertheless, some of what we were told contradicted the information given to us by the international humanitarian agencies. According to the UN, 161,765 Tamils have left the conflict zone since October last year, including 119,000 in the last 10 days. This is very welcome, but the numbers have seriously challenged the Sri Lankan authorities. The UN agencies were frustrated that the Government appear to put unnecessary obstacles in the way of them and of others trying to assist the Government in dealing with this crisis. The agencies lack any access to IDPs until they have already been through a preliminary screening process, and do not have full access to the camps; visas and authorisations to move people and goods into and around the country are too limited. Meanwhile, people are not being allowed out of the camps and many families have been separated. Some men, alleged to be LTTE cadres, have been taken from families and placed in so-called rehabilitation camps. All of this reinforces the need for full and unhindered access by the UN and other agencies. We therefore returned again and again in our talks to five specific needs in respect of the humanitarian situation: first, for visas to be issued to international humanitarian staff swiftly; secondly, for travel permits for staff working on approved projects inside Sri Lanka; thirdly, for full access to IDPs as soon as they have crossed the front line and monitoring of all stages of screening; fourthly, for a proper resettlement programme with specific deadlines to fulfil the Government’s commitment to 80 per cent of IDPs resettled by year’s end; and, fifthly, to allow the distribution of sufficient food and medicine to meet the needs of civilians trapped in the conflict zone. We were promised intensive follow-up by the Sri Lankan Government and we will continue to engage with them on those issues. At present, the Sri Lankan Government are engaged in a war without witness in the north of the country. Civilians have fled the terror of the LTTE, but are afraid of what awaits them at the hands of the Government and unsure whether they will ever be allowed to return home. We were given assurances by the Sri Lankan Government that they had nothing to hide; we responded that it could therefore only be to their benefit to work with the international community in a fully transparent way. By giving UN agencies and international NGOs the freedom to operate to capacity in all areas, the Sri Lankan Government would bring much needed relief to many thousands of traumatised people, but also bring the confidence of the international community. My right honourable friend for Kilmarnock and Loudoun will be taking up the invitation of President Rajapakse to visit Sri Lanka as part of a cross-party group of MPs next week, and will pursue those five points. The other members of the group will be the right honourable Member for Gordon and the honourable Members for South Down, for Buckingham and for Glasgow Central. I share the gratitude of my right honourable friend for Kilmarnock and Loudoun that they have agreed to take part in this important visit. I will be visiting New York on 11 May and will pursue further UN involvement in the crisis. I will be discussing with Hillary Clinton and other like-minded colleagues how we can work more closely together to find a way to bring the fighting to a stop. I am grateful to all Members of the House who contributed to the debate yesterday. No one should underestimate the murderous damage done to Sri Lanka over the past 26 years by the LTTE, or the sheer hatred felt for its leadership. That is recognised in the international community. But while terrorist organisations work by killing people, democratic Governments exist to protect them. That is why the fighting in Sri Lanka must end now. The LTTE is apparently cornered and trapped, having inflicted grievous suffering on the people of Sri Lanka, primarily Sinhalese and Tamil but also Muslims. How the conflict is ended will have a direct bearing on the prospects for long-term peace in the country. The Government must win the peace as well as win the war. That will be the continuing focus of this Government's activity, hand in hand with international partners, in the days and weeks ahead".