The UK condemns the activities of the LTTE and recognises the Government of Sri Lanka’s democratic right to fight terrorism, said Mr. Bill Rammel, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, participating in an Adjournment Debate on tyhe situation in Sri Lanka in the House of Commons yesterday (18).

He said:" It is important not to forget that the LTTE is a ruthless terrorist organisation, which is responsible for serious human rights abuses against civilians throughout Sri Lanka.

The UK Minister also said: "The LTTE has no democratic mandate to represent the Tamil population. It is reported to recruit civilians, including children, into its ranks forcibly, to extort food and money from an already impoverished people, to abduct and kill Tamil civilians who disagree with its views or methods and to break all norms of international humanitarian law by preventing civilians from leaving conflict areas, effectively holding them as a human shield. The LTTE has conducted a terrorist campaign across the whole of Sri Lanka for nearly three decades, deliberately targeting thousands of individual civilians, as well as assassinating Government figures."

Here are some relevant excerpts from the debate in the House of Commons:

"With great international concern about the humanitarian and human rights situation in the north of Sri Lanka, it is timely to hold a debate on that country. Like many people in Britain, the Government are deeply concerned about the worsening conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and its impact on the welfare and human rights of Sri Lankan citizens.

"The lack of access by non-governmental organisations and the media to the conflict zone makes an objective assessment of the conflict impossible, to put it bluntly. Many alarming reports have emerged, speculating about the extent to which both parties’ activities conform with international humanitarian law. Those reports need a sober and measured analysis based on the evidence available, and I will try to provide that.

Concern for civilians in Sri Lanka and the primary responsibility of the Government of Sri Lanka to protect them means that the LTTE’s role in the conflict is sometimes overlooked. It is important not to forget that the LTTE is a ruthless terrorist organisation, which is responsible for serious human rights abuses against civilians throughout Sri Lanka.

The LTTE has no democratic mandate to represent the Tamil population. It is reported to recruit civilians, including children, into its ranks forcibly, to extort food and money from an already impoverished people, to abduct and kill Tamil civilians who disagree with its views or methods and to break all norms of international humanitarian law by preventing civilians from leaving conflict areas, effectively holding them as a human shield. The LTTE has conducted a terrorist campaign across the whole of Sri Lanka for nearly three decades, deliberately targeting thousands of individual civilians, as well as assassinating Government figures.

The UK condemns those activities and recognises the Government of Sri Lanka’s democratic right to fight terrorism.

Keith Vaz rose—

Bill Rammell: I give way.

Keith Vaz: Perhaps the Minister should continue with the “but”.

Bill Rammell: I tried to get the “but” in quickly because I anticipated an intervention from my right hon. Friend.
But if the Government of Sri Lanka are to be successful in the fight, they ultimately need to address the causes of terrorism, which are at the heart of the problem.

Keith Vaz: My hon. Friend is right to condemn terrorism, but is not he alarmed at the Sri Lankan Government’s deploying cluster bombs—bombing their own people, as the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Pelling) has said?

Bill Rammel: However, I also believe that we need a political solution—that was the “but” that I wanted to express.

Keith Vaz: What about cluster bombs?

Bill Rammell: I shall deal with that shortly.

The conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE has gone on for more than 25 years, and it has claimed the lives of at least 70,000 people in Sri Lanka. We recognise that the causes of the conflict, and the legitimate concerns of all communities in Sri Lanka, need to be addressed. However, terrorism is not the way to achieve that. The LTTE claims to be the sole legitimate voice of the Tamil people and is alleged to have killed Tamil politicians with different political views from its own. We must never allow a proscribed organisation to be the only voice of the people.

There needs to be a full debate among all communities—Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese—free from intimidation, on what an acceptable political settlement to the conflict might resemble. We have called on the LTTE to renounce terrorist methods and demonstrate genuine commitment to democratic principles. I hope that the recent reduction of attacks on civilian targets in the south of Sri Lanka suggests movement in that direction.