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Sri Lanka

I thank the Minister for his opening speech, which accurately described the situation and what needs to be done. The efforts of the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and others have been leading the international community. The Minister will not be surprised to hear that we urge him to do even more; nevertheless, he and his colleagues deserve credit for what they have done. I also thank the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Simpson), whose remarks were also helpful. It is important that we make this a cross-party matter as much as possible, because this is such a serious situation. Tens of thousands of civilians are facing shelling and the prospect of being victims in a bloodbath, or of being starved to death or dying from an epidemic. We have to come together to send the loudest possible signal that the Sri Lankan Government have to act like a proper, democratic Government and abide by the rule of law. The problem, of course, is that the Sri Lankan Government have not been listening. Despite all the efforts of the Foreign Secretary, President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, who have made their position clear, President Rajapaksa has not been listening. So we have to work out what else we can do to prevent this human catastrophe and get them to listen. In his intervention, the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) said the two key things that we have to stress time and again to the Sri Lankan Government, and it was good that the Minister confirmed that that was precisely what the Government have been doing. We must make it clear to the Sri Lankan Government that if they do not behave properly and avoid this human catastrophe, they will be isolated, and that we will work the hardest to isolate them both as a Government and as individuals. On the hon. Gentleman's second point, we must also make it clear that we will hold them to account. They have to hear that message from everybody. It would be a lot better if the whole world—the United Nations—were coming together to make that statement. We have had that debate, and to be honest I have probably shifted my position. We probably should not table a resolution until we know that it is not going to be vetoed. However, I should like to know—I do not know whether the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster), will feel free to answer this when he responds to the debate—what pressure we are putting on China in particular. The more I have examined the matter, the more I have found that it is the Chinese who are the real block, although they were hiding behind the Russians earlier. The Chinese have a massive vested interest because, as I said in a previous debate, China is now the biggest donor of aid to Sri Lanka, and while India and western Governments have refused to sell weapons to the Colombo Government, it has been the Chinese who have been supplying those weapons. We have had many debates on tragedies around the world—Zimbabwe, Darfur—in which China has been on the side of despotic Governments. We have to find a way to make China listen and take its responsibilities, over and above its economic interests, rather more seriously. This is not about domestic politics in China. The Chinese Government get terribly worried when we mention Tibet, and one can debate whether it is right for them to be so sensitive about it, but at least we can understand why they might be. They have to understand that if China is to join the world community and be accepted properly, as it deserves to be on the basis of its huge significance in the world, it has to act responsibly. Even if it wants to veto a resolution, why is it not using its weight and clout to bring President Rajapaksa to heel? The figures on arms sales and aid show that the President or Premier of China could pick up the phone and really exercise some influence over Sri Lanka. I should like to know whether the British Government are exercising their influence, and getting the Americans to exercise theirs, on the Chinese Government. That is one thing that we need to focus on, because it could really unlock some doors.