UK House of Lords raises Aluthgama riots

Friday, 4 July 2014 01:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

House of Lords Members call violence in Aluthgama an ‘outrage’
British HC raised anti-Muslim violence with BBS officials, says UK Senior Minister

By Dharisha Bastians Recent religious violence in the two southern towns of Aluthgama and Beruwela were raised at the House of Lords on Wednesday, with the British Government acknowledging that it was concerned by the actions of the hardline Bodu Bala Sena group. Raising the issue during a debate about Sri Lanka, human rights and the UN investigation, Lord Bach of Labour questioned what representations the UK Government was making to the Sri Lankan Government about the “outrage” at Aluthgama. “The recent deaths of three Sri Lankan Muslims and one Tamil at the hands of the Buddhist nationalist group Bodu Bala Sena is a worrying development,” Lord Bach said. Senior Minister of State for the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Baroness Sayeeda Hussein Warsi said British High Commission officials in Sri Lanka had met with the BBS to raise concerns about anti-Muslim violence.

“But they have met also, in relation to other minorities, with the Sri Lankan Government,” the Baroness added. Another House of Lords Member Baroness Brinton questioned if there had been any progress on arrests for what she called “horrible” violence in Aluthgama. “While it is good that President Rajapaksa has promised to rebuild damaged property with his support, I think that the community would much prefer to hear that the perpetrators have been caught and what the Government will do to prevent such violence in the future,” Baroness Brinton noted.The Senior Minister of State told the House of Lords that the UK had encouraged the Sri Lankan Government to cooperate with the UN investigation. “We have seen some of the statements that have come out of Sri Lanka suggesting that the position is otherwise,” the Baroness noted.“We believe that the UN’s independent investigation has a strong team. As the noble Lord will be aware, people such as Martti Ahtisaari, Silvia Cartwright and Asma Jahangir – the phenomenal human rights campaigner in Pakistan – have been appointed to this investigating committee,” she added. The Baroness said the British Government hoped that despite the Sri Lankan Government’s non-cooperation, the committee will produce a good and strong international investigation Asked if the British Government had made it clear to Sri Lanka that refusal to deal with the UN inquiry was not acceptable, the Baroness observed that the UK would continue to make that point throughout the investigation. “It is in Sri Lanka’s interests to cooperate fully. The reason we find ourselves in this position is that the internal investigations did not do what they said they would do,” she explained.