{"id":109507,"date":"2020-12-08T17:05:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T00:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109507"},"modified":"2020-12-08T17:05:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T00:05:46","slug":"lord-naseby-uk-policy-statement-on-lanka-riddled-with-factual-inaccuracies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/08\/lord-naseby-uk-policy-statement-on-lanka-riddled-with-factual-inaccuracies\/","title":{"rendered":"Lord Naseby: UK policy statement on Lanka riddled with factual inaccuracies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy The Island<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Lord Naseby, the Honorary\nPresident of The All Party Parliamentary British Sri Lanka Group has, on\nthe basis of assurances received from the heads of ICRC, Colombo, on three\noccasions; denied torture was taking place in post-war Sri Lanka. In a letter addressed\nto Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia and the\nCommonwealth, reminded the Minister how some Tamils caused self-harm\nto gain entry into the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfollowing is the full text of the letter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nreference to Sri Lanka in the 20 November 2020 Ministerial Statement you made\non Human Rights Priority Countries for the period Jan -June 2020 is dreadful,\nas it is riddled with factual inaccuracies and a total failure to reflect in\nany way the efforts of Sri Lanka to achieve reconciliation following the end of\nthe terrorist conflict in May 2009. In fact the question arises as to why Sri\nLanka is in the list of our human rights priority countries when there are\ncountries with abysmal human rights records. I highlight the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. I can understand\nthe frustration of the UN at Sri Lanka\u2019s withdrawal from the UN Resolutions.\nHowever, you know the background of the Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera\nsigning without having the agreement of the Executive President or seemingly\nthe Cabinet. Sri Lanka now has a new Government which is frustrated at the UN\napproach and wishes now to handle the reconciliation internally. Indeed the new\nExecutive President highlighted \u2018reconciliation\u2019 in his inaugural speech and\nthe Foreign Minister in his address to the UNHRC session in February 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frankly I\ndraw an analogy with the UK. Following a Referendum of our people we are\nleaving the EU so that we can make our own laws & be responsive to our own\nlegal system rather than being subservient to European laws & Courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\nis no different. They had a general election with a turnout of voters far\nhigher than we achieve and as a result the new Government were empowered to\ngive notice to leave the UN Resolutions and seek an internal solution. The\npresent Sri Lankan Government sought a mandate from the people for this which\nwas approved overwhelmingly by the voters. It is a sovereign decision of Sri\nLanka just as the decision of ours to leave the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The\nclaim is made \u2018Parliamentary elections were delayed twice because of COVID -19\nwithout reconvening Parliament, which resulted in a lack of Parliamentary\noversight from March onwards\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nindependent and highly regarded Election Commission who I can personally vouch\nfor, decided to postpone the parliamentary election from its initial date of 25\nApril 2020 to 20 June 2020 and finally to 5 August 2020 due to challenges posed\nby the Covid 19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eighth\nSri Lanka Parliament was dissolved on 2nd March 2020 invoking Article 70(7) of\nthe Sri Lanka Constitution in the context of an Emergency. The dissolution of\nthe Sri Lankan Parliament was done before the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic\nand the election was duly held on 5 August, the earliest occasion it was\nfeasible to hold the election and Sri Lanka is among the few countries in the\nworld that successfully held elections in the midst of a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally,\nI see a comparable parallel to the UK. On the 23rd March Prime Minster Boris\nJohnson made a TV address in which he asked people to stay at home and only\nleave for very limited purposes. On 24th March Secretary of State Hancock made\na statement in the Commons saying that the PM announcement was not advice but\nrules enforceable by the Police. Parliament rose for the Easter recess on 25\nMarch and was not recalled. The Government stated the regulations were needed\nurgently and therefore were brought into force without prior parliamentary\napproval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am\nastounded that our lead representative in Geneva chose to criticise Sri Lanka\nwith incorrect factual information made even worse as there was there was no\nParliamentary oversight in the UK. Indeed it is still worse in the UK as we\nregularly receive SI\u2019s in the Lords for debate weeks after they have been\nimplemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore,\nsince Sri Lanka\u2019s ninth Parliament has been in session, no new laws have been\nenacted to deal with COVID 19 pandemic which is clear evidence that the\nexisting laws were adequate to deal with the pandemic or any other situation\nbetween March and August 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The\nUNHRC on freedom of religion or belief state there was an increase in\nanti-Muslim sentiment \u2018fuelled by disinformation around Covid 19\u2019. Sri Lanka\nlike most Countries set up a Covid Committee with scientists, epidemiologists\nand experienced health administrators. These experts stated that due to the\nshallow water table in Sri Lanka and the possibility of those who died of\nCovid-19 contaminating the ground water, normal burial would not be possible.\nThis was to apply to everyone and regardless of cause of death. However, taking\nin consideration Muslim representations a Committee has been set up to examine\nthe possibility of burial in the dry areas. I would expect anyone with any\nunderstanding would recognise in an emergency the science must be listened to,\nafter all we in the UK are told to do so. It may be noteworthy that recently,\npeople in Denmark have raised concerns about the possibility of groundwater\nbeing contaminated in areas where culled mink are buried and urged the\nauthorities to burn the carcases of culled mink instead of burying for the same\nreason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. I note\nthe UN makes no mention of the relative success of Sri Lanka in controlling the\nVirus. I checked and as at 24.11.2020 Covid deaths were 90 for a population of\n21 million which as a percentage is 0.0004% \u2013 the best in South Asia. We in the\nUK as at 25th November had 56,533 deaths for a population of 67.88m which is a\nratio of 0.0832. This is the worst in Europe. In addition, there has been no\nacknowledgement whatsoever to the rehabilitation and release of 12000 LTTE\ncadres and the release of private land utilised by both the Indian military and\nsubsequently by Sri Lankan military during the 30 year conflict. This is\nparticularly significant in the context of the recent terror attacks in Vienna\nwhere the perpetrator of the terror attack had been given an early release from\nhis prison sentence following a terror related conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. There is\ncriticism of the Presidential Task Force and use of the military. However, the\nUK has used the military with success. Many of us think they should have been\nused much more. Indeed, I note our Military are on standby during the festive\nseason. The deployment of armed forces along with other government officials to\nassist people in natural calamities and in disaster management is nothing new.\nIt is not a practice limited to Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lankan armed forces\nhave always contributed to assist relief work following natural disaster such\nas the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 as well as landslides, flooding and droughts\nwhich are a common occurrence in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.\n\u2018Military appointments to government roles included individuals accused of war\ncrimes\u2019. It is inevitable that former military senior officers will be accused\nof alleged War Crimes by the LTTE who escaped and now control some of the\nDiaspora Groups who pump out propaganda. I remind you and the UN that this was\na war and the law that operates is the law of armed conflict, otherwise known\nas International Humanitarian Law. The Government of Sri Lanka sees that there\nis no case against their senior Officers indeed Col Gash in his despatches\npraises the Sri Lanka armed forces for the care they took to try to minimize\ncivilian casualties. I see nothing wrong at all in having a highly qualified\nmilitary surgeon assigned to lead the Government Health Service to good effect\nlooking at their Covid success in contrast to our NHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make two\nfurther observations: You will be aware that we in the UK have a Bill going\nthrough Parliament \u2013 Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill.\nThe need for this legislation arises from bogus allegations of war crimes by\nBritish Military in the Iraq war. I see a direct parallel with Sri Lanka in\nrelation to unfounded allegations principally from former LTTE leaders using\nthe Diaspora. Sri Lankan armed forces fought to neutralize a deadly terrorist\noutfit which was a threat not only to Sri Lanka but the whole world. They did\nnot fight someone else\u2019s war in another country. Given the allegations against\nthe Australian forces in Afghanistan, we must be cautious when we accuse the\narmed forces of a country which fought to safeguard its own territorial\nintegrity and to rid the world of a ruthless terror outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also\nremind you that we in the UK seem comfortable to have Mrs Adele Balasingham, a\nBritish Citizen by marriage residing in the UK. It was she who as a LTTE leader\nrecruited and trained \u2018Child Soldiers\u2019 resulting in a heavy death toll as they\nwere put in the front line. There can be no greater War Crime than this. In\nfact, according the Rome Statute to which the UK is a State Party, recruitment\nof children is a war crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7.\u2019Complaints\nfrom Human Rights Activists and Human Rights defenders\u2019. On my last three\nvisits I have been told by NGO activists that \u2018Torture\u2019 is happening in Sri\nLanka. Each time I question the head of the ICRC, as it happens a different\nperson each time, who state categorically that they have never seen or had any\nevidence to substantiate the claims. You also know we have seen in the UK cases\nof self-harm by certain Tamils trying to gain entry into the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.\n\u2018Domestic Mechanism\u2019 for reconciliation and accountability. The criticism\nignores the vital role of the missing persons Commission and the beginning of\nReparation payments. Furthermore, since notice was only given in April just as\nthe Pandemic struck and a General Election had to be held it is ridiculous to\nimply nothing was really happening which is the tenor of this part of the UN\ncomplaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. The only\nsubstantial point in the Report that warrants real attention is the holding in\ncustody of the Muslim Lawyer without being charged. I have raised this issue at\nthe highest level in Sri Lanka pointing out it is unacceptable. I am told that\nevidence is being collected in relation to a possible association with the\nEaster Sunday bombing atrocity. I have made it clear he should either be\ncharged or released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I conclude.\nYou will be aware that the well-known and respected Legatum Institute who\nannually assess 167 nations across 65 policy-focused elements, measured by\nalmost 300 country-level indicators enabling them to construct a thoroughly\ncomprehensive picture of prosperity across its institutional, economic and\nsocial dimensions. They issued their latest report on14th November 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically,\nthey state in relation to Sri Lanka and I quote;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018This\nyear\u2019s Index will showcase the impressive performance of Sri Lanka over the\npast decade in improving its ranking across a number of key social indicators.\nSpecifically, it will highlight the extent to which improvements to the\nhealthcare and education sectors have been key to delivering this increase in\nprosperity, and how your approach might serve as an inspiration for other\nnations confronted with similar challenges today\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a\ncontrast to the UNHCR report the UK Government has issued internationally full\nof factual errors which is frankly unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We in the\nUK are beneficiaries of the mammoth investment by the Government of Sri Lanka\nin its human capital given the large numbers of professionals of Sri Lankan\norigin, including from the Tamil community serving in medicine, engineering,\naccountancy and other fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a\nmisplaced vindictiveness towards a country with huge potential and talent well\nable with encouragement to become the Singapore of South Asia. We have just\nappointed a new Trade Envoy. In my judgement the UK now trading as a sovereign\ncountry on its own needs to nurture these opportunities rather than sit on the\nside-lines criticising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover,\nSri Lanka is a country that has supported the UK in the international arena. It\nis among the handful of countries that voted with the UK on the UN resolution\nin the 1980s on the Falklands issue. Recently, Sri Lanka was also amongst the\nvery few countries that abstained on the UN resolution on the issue of the\nChagos Archipelago. Sri Lanka must have done so irrespective of its close\nrelations with Argentina in the former case and Mauritius in the second, due to\nthe importance it accords to its relations with the UK. The UK should reciprocate\nsuch goodwill and not attempt to victimise Sri Lanka for petty domestic reasons\nat the behest of an extreme Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in the UK.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy The Island Lord Naseby, the Honorary President of The All Party Parliamentary British Sri Lanka Group has, on the basis of assurances received from the heads of ICRC, Colombo, on three occasions; denied torture was taking place in post-war Sri Lanka. In a letter addressed to Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}