Sri Lanka

Simon Danczuk Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Lab)]

It is a delight to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Main. I pay tribute to the person behind this debate, my late constituent, Khuram Shaikh. Khuram was a Rochdale Red Cross worker who worked in some of the most dangerous parts of the world, helping people who had lost limbs from bombs, land mines and disease. The terrible irony is that he was killed not in the crucible of war, but at a holiday resort in Sri Lanka, where he was supposed to be recuperating before leaving for his next mission in Cambodia. It was not a land mine in Gaza that killed Khuram Shaikh; it was a group of thugs, running amok in the tourist resort of Tangalle.

Khuram spent his working life in harm’s way, but when he was killed, he was sitting in a luxury hotel near a beach in an idyllic setting. I looked at the hotel in a glossy brochure the other day and no one could imagine a safer place to be, but the holiday brochures do not warn people about the depraved gangs that stalk the tourist areas in Sri Lanka, looking for trouble.

My constituent died in appalling circumstances, trying to defend his partner from a horrific attack by a group of political thugs who continue to walk free in Sri Lanka. I want to concentrate on two things today; the failure of the Sri Lankan justice system to properly investigate the killing of a British tourist and the wider failings of that country’s justice system, which is rightly coming under more international scrutiny in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that Sri Lanka is due to host this November.

I want to set out the facts about the failure of the Sri Lankan justice system to investigate the death of my constituent. The nature of Khuram’s death was brought home to me in the most appalling way possible, as I was presented with crime reports by the head of the Sri Lankan criminal investigation department. I am now certain that Khuram died trying unsuccessfully to protect his female partner from a horrific and sustained attack, the details of which would make anyone sick and are simply too distressing to repeat here.

After Khuram was killed on Christmas day 2011, Sri Lankan Ministers moved into overdrive, initially worried at the damage that might be done to the country’s growing tourist sector. The Minister responsible for economic development and tourism at the time said:

“Those who committed this crime will be severely dealt with even if a ruling party politician is involved. The government will not protect those involved in this crime.”

Eight men were immediately detained, including a local politician, who was suspended from the ruling party, and police informed Khuram’s family that they had sufficient evidence to make sure that the case moved swiftly to trial. Then, when the media attention died down, everything ground to a halt. Eventually, the eight suspects were quietly released on bail and the local politician was allowed back into the ruling party. Any pretence of justice went out of the window.

On the anniversary of Khuram’s murder—Christmas day just gone—media attention returned and the Sri Lankan Government went through the same routine of claiming that justice was taking its course and that it was normal for suspects, even those suspected of serious crimes, to be out on bail. Inquiries were taking longer than expected, we were told. Khuram’s family was quite right not to be satisfied, and their wish to see justice and experience some sense of closure at a terrible tragedy for them was understandable.

To assist in the process, I agreed to fly out with the brother of Khuram to seek answers. Earlier this month, I spent 40 hours with Naser Shaikh in Sri Lanka, meeting Ministers, senior civil servants, Members of Parliament, journalists, police, diplomats and lawyers to try to find out why the case had stalled and to press for justice.

At this point, let me put on record my thanks to the British high commission in Sri Lanka. Its help and support was extremely good, and it is a credit to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our country.

While out there, I was emphatically told by countless Sri Lankan people that politicians are immune from prosecution in such cases and that the local politician suspected of killing Khuram was protected by the President. I was also told that some politicians were out of control and running riot in many parts of the country. While I was there, it was reported that two more British tourists had been hospitalised after an attack by another local politician. As I boarded the plane to return to the UK, I picked up a copy of The Island, a popular Sri Lankan newspaper. The front page ran a story of our visit and underneath it was a cartoon of a man explaining how “political goons” had killed hundreds of Sri Lankan people.

If this was not horrifying enough, the lax attitude towards the case by senior Sri Lankan civil servants was even more worrying. The permanent secretary at the Foreign Office told me that, if politicians had good lawyers, they could find a way to escape justice. When I put it to him that he could not guarantee the safety of British tourists, he shrugged and said their system needed more teeth. The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice told me that they could not take foreign witness statements regarding the case, because it would be too much trouble to get them to travel to Sri Lanka for the trial. When I suggested they use video evidence, she said Sri Lanka was unable to use such sophisticated technology. Later, the head of police investigating the case directly contradicted her and said that they should use video link technology.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman is giving an impassioned account of what took place. Does he feel that the fall-down in this has been the police investigation, or has it been political influence? Does he feel that the assistance of police in this country might help the police out there to do a full investigation, so enabling the right people to be tried, convicted and put in prison?

[Simon Danczuk]

The hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point. I am convinced that it is about political interference. The police out there have done a relatively reasonable—quite a good—job investigating. I will come back to some of those points in my speech.

Worse still, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice added that the accused would be able to choose the trial that he wished. It would be unlikely that he would want a trial at bar in Colombo, and the likelihood is that it would be a trial by jury in Tangalle, where he has a fearful reputation and where jury members are likely to be easily intimidated. With most of the country’s media in Colombo, the trial would pass without a great deal of scrutiny. This case has reached a sorry pass when it seems the best that we can hope for is a sham trial.

Police have told us that they have 12 witness statements identifying the main suspect and that they are only awaiting DNA tests, which have been delayed for the best part of a year. Whenever we question the delay, we get the same response: “the tests will be ready in a few more months.” Although I accept that the Sri Lankan justice system moves slower than ours, I remain convinced that political interference is putting the brake on any efforts to move things forward. In a country that can impeach its chief justice in a matter of weeks but see little progress in 15 months on the death of a British tourist, serious questions need to be asked about not just the independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary, but also its ability to stop further crimes like this happening.

The Minister will be aware that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel guidance on Sri Lanka warns of an increasing number of sexual offences being committed and gangs being known to operate in tourist areas. My concern is that although British Airways promotes Sri Lanka as its No. 1 destination for 2013, many tourists do not know of the potential dangers that they face.

We all know of the vast Chinese investment in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, but making Sri Lanka open to the world requires a lot more than just hotels; it requires a commitment to the shared international values of democracy, human rights and justice. More than ever, that commitment should be on display to the world right now, as Sri Lanka gears up for the CHOGM.

President Rajapaksa has talked of the “true Commonwealth spirit” that the summit will embody, but against a backdrop of the continued denials of human rights abuses, the sacking of its chief justice for daring to make a decision that the Government found inconvenient and the abandonment of the rule of law, it is hard to see where the true Commonwealth spirit is in Sri Lanka. For Rajapaksa’s regime to continue flagrantly to ignore key Commonwealth values, while assuming the position of chair-in-office of the Commonwealth later this year, makes a mockery of the Commonwealth and winds back the clock on 60 years of progress.

There is a growing chorus of opposition to Sri Lanka hosting such a prestigious event, and I hope the Minister is attentive to those legitimate concerns. Geoffrey Robertson, QC, has argued:

“A visit to Sri Lanka by the Queen, as the head of the Commonwealth, would provide a propaganda windfall—a royal seal of approval—to the host president after his destruction of the country’s judicial independence.”

A former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington (Sir Malcolm Rifkind), has said that it would be a mistake for Sri Lanka to host the meeting, which he likened to Pretoria hosting a Commonwealth summit while South Africa was under apartheid. Another former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (David Miliband), has said that the notion of the Queen attending the meeting in Sri Lanka is “grotesque”. Although I share his sentiment, I would use even stronger language to describe my reaction to the possibility of Her Majesty coming face to face with the chief suspect of the cold-blooded and cowardly murder of my constituent.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for initiating this debate. I share his view that Sri Lanka ought not to host the CHOGM. Will he join me in asking the Minister to consider whether it might be reasonable to set up an organisation under the auspices of the Commonwealth, or to commission a body such as Justice or the International Commission of Jurists, to go to Sri Lanka to carry out an objective report on the country’s legal situation? Not only is there the hon. Gentleman’s case, but many others that need investigation where Sri Lanka has fallen far short of any acceptable Commonwealth standard.

[Simon Danczuk]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Any suggestions or proposals that would improve the situation in Sri Lanka are welcome. I am interested to hear the Minister’s response.

It has been reported that the main suspect, Sampath Chandra Pushpa, is to be invited to the CHOGM in an official capacity, which makes an absolute mockery of the Commonwealth secretary-general’s statement that the meeting is an opportunity to find “paths to peace”. Values, as we all know, can only be demonstrated by action, or as Gandhi put it:

“Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

In Sri Lanka’s case, we are yet to get beyond warm words. Ministers seem to think that soothing rhetoric will be enough to reassure us that justice will happen one day.

My point is that paying lip service to the key principles of human rights and the rule of law is neither here nor there. The leaders of 54 countries will not be heading to a country that embodies the shared values and principles of the Commonwealth this November; they will be travelling to what is fast becoming a pariah state that embodies neither Commonwealth values nor Commonwealth goals.

Of course, some people will say that the attack on my constituent and his partner is an isolated incident, but that is not true. Attacks on European tourists are increasing and there is grave concern among diplomats about the safety of foreign nationals, particularly women travelling alone. Equally disturbing are the attacks on journalists. In the past month, the British journalist Faraz Shauketaly, who works for The Sunday Leader, was shot in his own house by unidentified gunmen. A few years before, the editor of that newspaper, which is known for its exposés of corruption in the country, was killed. Too many Sri Lankan journalists have been killed or have gone into exile, and the country has a terrible press freedom record, languishing near the bottom of the press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

The purpose of the debate is not only to shine a light on how the Sri Lankan justice system is failing properly to investigate the murder of a British tourist, but to honour the memory of Khuram Shaikh, who was a well respected member of our community and a valuable and committed member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Understandably, his death has caused untold grief for his family, and I know that his father makes the trip to his grave every day.

Although Khuram achieved a lot in his life and tributes have been paid to him from across the world, he was only 32 when he was killed, and he should have had many years ahead of him. His death has left a huge gap in the lives of those who knew him, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce a debate that adds to the tributes for Khuram. I am sure the Minister will agree that every necessary step must now be taken by the British Government and others to press Sri Lanka to do more to protect tourists, so that others do not meet the same fate.