British Parliament discuss EU Court’s delisting of LTTE and Sri Lanka’s presidential elections
Wednesday, 26 November 2014 00:42
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London: The European Union Court’s decision to delist the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the upcoming presidential election in Sri Lanka were among the issues discussed at Britain’s upper parliament, House of Lords on Monday.
The discussion initiated when Lord Naseby, who is the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sri Lanka, asked the House of Lords what action they are taking in response to the European Court of Justice verdict on 16 October and its conclusions in respect of restrictive measures currently in place since the LTTE was proscribed by the European Union in 2006 and by the United Kingdom in 2000.
Responding to Lord Naseby, Lord Wallace of Saltaire said they are studying the implications of the ECJ judgment and considering appropriate next steps and announce that the UK condemns the Tamil Tigers as a brutal terror organisation, and it remains proscribed under UK law.
Lord Naseby informed the House that the Tamil Tiger groups in UK are planning a rally at ExCel on Thursday (27) to celebrate the life of the slain LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and the other Tamil Tigers, and to raise money for Eelam. He said the rally should be stopped since the LTTE is a proscribed group in UK.
Lord Wallace responding to Lord Naseby said the UK Government is actively concerned to promote reconciliation and reconstruction within Sri Lanka among all of its different communities. The members of the House of Lords also discussed the upcoming presidential elections in Sri Lanka when Lord Bach asked what the prospects are for a free, fair and inclusive election in Sri Lanka given the history of such elections in the past and the blocking of the common Opposition candidate’s first TV interview.
Lord Wallace said the British Government and others are talking about the best way to ensure that there is effective monitoring of the elections. “We will of course be raising such issues with the Sri Lankan Government,” he said.
The Lords also discussed the progress being made with the United Nations Human Rights Council inquiry into the war crime allegations and the Sri Lanka Government’s cooperation with the investigation.Lord Wallace responded that as a sponsor of the resolution of the UNHRC, the UK is actively concerned in the issue.
“We are not at all happy about the refusal of the Sri Lankan authorities to co-operate with the attempts to have an external inquiry, because of our concerns that the internal inquiry’s recommendations have not yet been implemented,” he said.
When asked what action the British Government will take to ensure that the Sri Lankan Government co-operate more fully with the UN report Lord Wallace added that the UK Government has actively made its position clear to the Sri Lankan Government and will continue to do so.
