European Parliament resolution on Sri Lanka
Date: 2006-09-07
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Sri Lanka, civil war, human rights, humanitarian aid, settlement of disputes, terrorism, the EU's international role, war crime

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Official Journal of the European Union

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14.12.2006

Thursday 7 September 2006

Calls on the Council and the Commission to promote a ‘European Cultural Heritage Year’ so as to
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make the European public more aware of the importance of taking the necessary measures to promote their
cultural heritage;

Calls on the Commission and Member States to cooperate with the Council of Europe with a view to
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further promoting traditional communities and the architectural heritage in rural and island regions as part
of the ‘European Cultural Heritage Days’ initiative so as to make the European public more aware of the
value of local architectural monuments;

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Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to take account of the numerous
Council of Europe and Unesco conventions on the protection of the natural, architectural and cultural
heritage of Europe, and to strengthen their cooperation with those organisations in accordance with Arti-
cle 151(3) of the EC Treaty;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments

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and parliaments of the Member States and the Council of Europe.

P6_TA(2006)0356

Sri Lanka

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Sri Lanka

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Sri Lanka of 18 May 2000 (1), 14 March 2002 (2) and
its resolution of 13 January 2005 (4) on the tsunami disaster in the Indian

20 November 2003 (3),
Ocean and its resolution of 18 May 2006 (5) on the situation in Sri Lanka,

— having regard to the decision of the Council of the European Union of 29 May 2006 (6) to formally

proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),

— having regard to the Tokyo Conference Co-chairmen's statement of 30 May 2006,

— having regard to the appeal of 12 August 2006 by the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference (EU,

USA, Japan, Norway) that both sides put an end to all breaches of the 2002 ceasefire,

— having regard to the statement of the Presidency of the European Union of 17 August 2006 on

Sri Lanka,

— having regard to the Tokyo Declaration on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka of

10 June 2003, which linked donor support to progress in the peace process,

— having regard to the Cease Fire Agreement signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE

which entered into force on 23 February 2002,

— having regard to the Oslo Declaration of December 2002, in which the Government of Sri Lanka and

the LTTE agreed to explore a solution based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

(1) OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 278.
(2) OJ C 47 E, 27.2.2003, p. 613.
(3) OJ C 87 E, 7.4.2004, p. 527.
(4) OJ C 247 E, 6. 10.2005, p. 147.
(5) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0227.
(6) Council Decision 2006/379/EC of 29 May 2006 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on
specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and
repealing Decision 2005/930/EC (OJ L 144, 31.5.2006, p. 21).

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A. whereas, in the past few months, the situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated miserably with hundreds of
deaths, some 200 000 people displaced from their homes, 500 000 civilians in the Jaffna peninsula
deprived of essential food and water supplies, and vital post-tsunami reconstruction work disrupted,

B. whereas the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has found that the LTTE was responsible for the
bombing of a civilian transport bus in a land mine attack on 15 June 2006 that killed 64 people and
injured more than 80 in Kebetigollewa in northern Sri Lanka and declared the incident to be a gross
violation of the Cease Fire Agreement,

C. whereas the failure to seize the opportunity for the resumption of peace negotiations has diminished

severely the possibility of real political progress,

D. whereas the SLMM has found that 17 aid workers employed by the French humanitarian agency Action

Against Hunger had been shot dead by government forces in Muttur,

E. whereas the SLMM has been depleted and many of its monitors have been withdrawn from northern

and eastern Sri Lanka following the ultimatum issued by the LTTE,

F.

recalling the primacy of respect for human rights and humanitarian norms by all parties to the conflict,
not only as an immediate response to the worsening situation but as a fundamental building block in a
just and enduring resolution of the conflict,

G. whereas a deal to share international aid in the aftermath of the tsunami has never been properly
implemented, reconstruction has been slow and there is real concern that funds may have been mis-
appropriated,

Deplores the resumption of large-scale and widespread violence and the breakdown of peace negotia-
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tions; is alarmed by the deterioration of the security situation with military clashes in the east and the north;
stresses that the immediate reintroduction of the nominally extant Cease Fire Agreement is essential for any
progress towards a political solution and a lasting peace;

2.
Condemns the daily attacks in and around Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa, which have resulted in
enormous humanitarian suffering and the deaths of hundreds of civilians and military personnel; notes that
the Muslim community in the east of the country has suffered disproportionately from the renewed fighting
with the displacement of 50 000 people in Muttur alone;

3.
Deeply deplores the murder of the 17 Sri Lankans working for the French NGO Action Against
Hunger in Muttur; acknowledges the Government's initiation of a full investigation into the incident and
the participation of a forensic expert seconded by the Government of Australia; reiterates its demand for
effective and impartial investigations into all alleged atrocities and serious human rights violations and for
the full force of the law to be brought to bear against those found to have been complicit in such activities;

Condemns the operation on 14 August 2006 against Mullaitivu which resulted in the deaths of 51

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children and young people;

5. Welcomes the announcement by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa of his intention to invite an
international independent group of eminent persons as observers of investigations into abductions, disap-
pearances and extrajudicial killings in Sri Lanka; considers the setting-up of an independent, credible and
effective commission, in the interim, to be a courageous move that could break the vicious cycle of violence
in Sri Lanka; recommends that the Government of Sri Lanka seek the advice of UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Louise Arbour in establishing the commission, so as to ensure its independence and effec-
tiveness;

6.
Underscores the long-term need for a wide-ranging human rights agreement between the parties and
its facilitation by an effective, independent international monitoring mission, complementing the agreement
on the ground, as recommended by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, with unhindered access to both
Government and LTTE controlled areas;

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7.
Emphasises the need for Government forces engaged in counter-insurgency and domestic security
operations to exercise maximum restraint in accordance with international law in order to minimise any
risk of innocent civilian casualties, and to behave impeccably in all their actions; recommends that the
Government of Sri Lanka strengthen its National Police Force to ensure effective police investigation of all
extrajudicial killings; recommends the immediate appointment of members of the National Police Commis-
sion by the Constitutional Council, as provided for by the Constitution, and that its key role in promoting
and disciplining police officers be confirmed; recommends programmes to recruit Tamil and Tamil-speaking
police officers, especially to work in the North and East, and programmes to train all police reservists in
criminal detection and investigation;

8.
Reiterates its condemnation of the appalling abuse of children through the recruitment of child sol-
diers, which is a war crime, and calls on all rebel groups to stop this practice, to release those whom they
are holding and to make a declaration of principle that they will not recruit any children in the future; urges
the Government of Sri Lanka to put into place legal measures to prevent and criminalise the practice;
welcomes the appointment of Ambassador Alan Rock of Canada as a Special Advisor to Radhika Coomar-
aswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, to conduct a fact-finding mission to
Sri Lanka on this issue;

9.
Condemns the intransigence of the LTTE leadership over the years, which has successively rejected so
many possible ways forward, including devolution at the provincial level or Provincial Councils; devolution
at the regional level or Regional Councils; as well as the concept of a federation with devolution at the
national level;

Expresses its concern that elements on both sides of the divide in Sri Lanka are intent on conflict and

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insists, for the sake of all the people of Sri Lanka, that they pull back from the brink;

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Calls therefore for an immediate, comprehensive and verifiable end to hostilities, including political
assassinations and suicide bombing, and calls on Prabhakaran and Karuna to resume peace negotiations on
a constructive basis with the Government of Sri Lanka without delay;

12.
Calls for respect for human rights and humanitarian norms by all parties to the conflict, not only as
an immediate response to the worsening situation but as a fundamental building block in a just and endur-
ing resolution of the conflict;

13.
Calls on all parties to the conflict to guarantee the security of the SLMM at all times; regrets the
LTTE's insistence on the withdrawal of EU nationals from the SLMM; commends the departing Danish,
Finnish and Swedish monitors for their invaluable work; supports Iceland and Norway for increasing the
number of monitors they each provide to the SLMM and expresses the hope that the SLMM will be able to
perform its duties without fear of hostile action; calls on the Council to provide financial or technical
support for any measure that could make up for the loss and to adjust the SLMM equipment to match
the challenges of its task;

Calls on the Government and the LTTE to grant unhindered access for humanitarian aid workers, UN

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organisations and truce monitors to all parts of the country and to ensure their security;

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Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to clearly set out what the requirements are for NGOs to be
active in the North and East and to speed up the process of issuing work permits for international staff
working with NGOs, ensuring that the process is efficient and transparent;

16. Whilst the LTTE remains proscribed, calls upon EU Member States and the wider international com-
munity to take robust and determined action actively to investigate the agents of the LTTE; considers that
this should include a properly enforced travel ban to inhibit movement of recruiters and couriers; the arrest
and repatriation of those involved in terrorist support activities; confiscation of assets associated with the
LTTE, such as its commercial shipping fleet; freezing of suspect bank accounts; and closing companies or
undertakings associated with the LTTE; consideration can be given to lifting proscription if there is an
effective ceasefire, an end to terrorism and resumption of serious negotiations on a constructive basis;

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Notes the closure of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation in the UK and the current investigations
into the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation and the World Tamil Coordinating Committee offices in the
United States and Australia;

Insists that more effective measures be taken by all governments of EU Member States to prevent the
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indoctrination and intimidation of Tamils resident in their countries and the extortion of money to fund
LTTE activities;

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Reiterates its call, as an immediate gesture of goodwill, for both sides to cease the use of anti-person-
nel landmines and to assist in their removal and, to this end, calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to set an
example by signing the Ottawa Convention banning the use of such mines and on the LTTE to sign the
Geneva Call ‘Deed of Commitment’;

Notes the decision of two Tamil political parties, the Ceylon Workers Congress and the Up-Country

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People's Front, to join the governing coalition;

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Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka, the United National Party and other parties to agree to work
in close cooperation to take robust action against terrorism and to address legitimate Tamil grievances, and
to come forward with a bold gesture of reconciliation towards the Tamil peoples of Sri Lanka; considers that
a major step in creating the right framework for such action would be early revision of the Constitution of
Sri Lanka, as one of Asia's longest-standing democracies, to define the state as a secular, democratic republic
in which all religions are respected;

22. Welcomes President Rajapaksa's expressed commitment to ‘maximum devolution’ for the Tamil peo-
ples and calls for this to be given substance; accordingly, urges the work of the All Party Representative
Committee to be expedited in order to produce realistic and acceptable proposals within weeks rather than
months, which would win the hearts of the Tamil communities in the interests of an agreed solution;
reiterates the Co-chairs' statement of 30 May 2006, calling for the Government of Sri Lanka to ‘show that
it is ready to make the dramatic political changes to bring about a new system of governance which will
enhance the rights of all Sri Lankans’; calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Co-Chairs to reiterate
the Tokyo Declaration, and the LTTE to abide by it;

23.
Expresses concern at the impact of the renewed conflict on reconstruction and the delivery of inter-
national aid, noting that although the EU has allocated almost EUR 125 million in post-tsunami humanitar-
ian and reconstruction aid for Sri Lanka, the enduring political gridlock on the ‘Post-Tsunami Operations
Management Structure’ continues to delay the release of a further EUR 50 million in aid, hindering vital
reconstruction work in the north and east of Sri Lanka; notes also the decision of the Asian Development
Bank to reschedule some funding and the difficulties in taking forward many infrastructure projects;

Supports the current action plan of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for

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the benefit of the displaced population;

Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Governments of the Member States to redouble their

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efforts to help bring a stable and just peace to Sri Lanka and restore security and prosperity;

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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary-Gen-
eral of the United Nations, the Government of Norway and the other Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Con-
ference, the President and Government of Sri Lanka and other parties to the conflict.