Tamils Rights: Sri Lanka

Anne McLaughlin Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2015 Westminster Hall

[Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow North East) (SNP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (James Berry) on securing this debate. I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss something that is close to my heart and about which I feel passionately: the rights and experiences of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

I lived and worked in Sri Lanka for a few months in 2008, and I have been back several times since. I left many friends behind: Singhalese and Tamil, as well as Scottish and English, all of whom I have kept in touch with. As a Member of the Scottish Parliament for two years from 2009, I represented much of the Tamil diaspora in Glasgow in the aftermath of the civil war. Indeed, I met former President Rajapaksa in 2009, who was charm personified until I mentioned my constituents, at which point I became invisible. I do not think for a second that I am an expert on Sri Lanka as a result, but I hope that my personal experience will allow me to make a useful contribution to the debate.

I share the scepticism of the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton about new President Sirisena. He appears to take seriously his commitment to unify Sri Lanka, but we should never forget, as many have said, that he was in government when entire Tamil areas were bombed and thousands of people who posed no threat to anyone were killed. Progress has been made, however. In January, for example, the new Government said that the ban on the Tamil diaspora would continue, but by June they spoke of a diaspora festival. In the President’s inaugural address on 1 September, he called on the diaspora to

“use your expertise and skills to develop the motherland in this consensual political environment.”

I am deeply suspicious of politicians who make changes not because it is the right thing to do, but in order to win a power battle, so I remain cautious but optimistic. I will remain cautious about someone who has just increased their Cabinet from 30 to 48 Cabinet Secretaries, but optimistic about someone who has just returned presidential powers to the Parliament. While life remains hard for Tamils, both here and in Sri Lanka, we must keep the issue alive. Land has been returned to Tamils this year, but only after all the buildings had been destroyed. While people are still living in internally displaced person camps in Jaffna, we must keep a watching brief.

Finally, I want to draw attention to the fact that psychosocial therapy to help people deal with trauma was banned in Sri Lanka. That ban has now been lifted, but it comes too late for some who have fallen into alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual abuse. The world must keep an eye on Sri Lanka. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman again on bringing this fantastic, important debate to the House. The British Government often talk of their influence on the world stage. They must use it, and I look forward to hearing to how they plan to do so.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Swire]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. I very much welcome the plans to twin with Jaffna and so forth. When I was up there, it was clear that, rather than the diaspora returning funds to the Northern Province, Jaffna or the Tamil areas, they should make micro-investments and create businesses. Tamils are fantastic businessmen. The diaspora should invest back into their own country, in the safe knowledge that they will be secure to grow businesses there. There need not be dependence on remittances, but on the micro-economy, growth and jobs. That is what we want.

A vital part of the reconciliation process must be credible proposals that meet international standards to address the four key principles of transitional justice, namely, truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence. I was therefore pleased that Foreign Minister Mangala’s address to the Human Rights Council included such plans. We now need to work with the Sri Lankan Government and our partners in the Human Rights Council to understand Sri Lanka’s plans in more detail and to agree a consensual resolution that sets out a clear framework for delivery. That will of course include plans for delivering justice and accountability.

I appreciate why many in the Tamil community have called for a purely international accountability mechanism, but we have been clear for a long time that a credible domestic mechanism that meets international standards is the best way to build a stronger, more inclusive and prosperous society. In practice, that means: an appropriate legislative and judicial framework for prosecutions to take place; an international element that enables it to meet international standards; guarantees of effective protection of witnesses; and an agreed follow-up mechanism to monitor progress. That is the only way in which any process will gain credibility, critically with all Sri Lankan people and with the international community.

My hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton referred to allegations against senior public figures in Sri Lanka. As I have stated previously, we should not pre-judge the conclusions of the UN report. Once the report is published, however, it will be important that its findings are acted on in full, in a credible manner and in line with international standards.

My hon. Friend also referred to recent allegations of human rights violations. We take such allegations extremely seriously. We have repeatedly lobbied the Sri Lankan Government about human rights violations in the past and continue to do so. I discussed the issue of disappearances with Foreign Minister Mangala and with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, in Geneva yesterday. I am pleased that they have agreed to work together to establish an office on missing persons, in line with internationally accepted standards. I am also pleased that the Foreign Minister committed to begin issuing certificates of absence to the families of those who have disappeared, which is an important first step towards dealing with the terrible situation of the missing, which my hon. Friend described.

As regards asylum and human rights applications from Sri Lankan nationals, together with my colleagues at the Home Office, we keep our asylum policy for all countries under regular review, taking into account all available evidence. Applications are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Individuals who can demonstrate that they face a genuine risk of persecution or ill-treatment in Sri Lanka are granted protection. In an individual case, when people raise material issues about the safety of their return, the Home Office will review it.

[Anne McLaughlin]

What about cases in which people cannot prove that they would be in imminent danger, but are so terrified by their experiences in Sri Lanka over many years that they cannot bear to go back? I have constituents in such circumstances. Would the Home Office consider granting them asylum even though they might not face danger, but perceive that they do?

[Mr Swire]

If the Home Office gave asylum to everyone who perceived danger, the asylum policy would be in a mess, as the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) said it was—which it is not. We have to make judgments case by case. We have been reviewed regularly and withstood such reviews, so our policy is robust. Incidentally, as I discussed again in Geneva yesterday, there are of course still problems in the police and the armed forces, and the new Government need to come to terms with that, but I genuinely believe that they will stamp out any human rights abuses. We need to understand that there has been a sea change in Sri Lanka. We need to get behind the new Administration.