Without a political solution resentment will build up and there will be more violence, in twenty-five or fifty years says Howells.
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| Dr Kim Howells, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office meets Rajapakse |
Dr Kim Howells, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, during his third visit to the country called for Sri Lanka to end all military efforts and to resume talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reported the Island newspaper.
He said the ongoing military efforts will not bring peace to the country and the government had “no option but to negotiate with the LTTE”, said the paper.
Further, he argued that “war has only moved the front lines North and South along A9 and has but neither side has been able to win a decisive victory”.
He went on to state that “even if the security forces were able to win - what then? There would still need to be a political deal, otherwise resentment will build up and there will be more violence, in twenty-five or fifty years", the Island quoted him as saying.
In the recent months, Sri Lankan government has been actively involved in strengthening their military capabilities, especially its airpower with purchases of highly sophisticated fighter planes.
Howells also expressed deep concern for the human rights abuses, and said “they damage Sri Lanka’s image overseas and make it more difficult for the international community to give the Sri Lankan government the political support it wants”, the paper said.
As a way of justifying the interest and attention given to Sri Lanka’s rights abuses by the international community, he said “some claim that comments about human rights are interference in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. But Human Rights are not a purely domestic matter. Both Sri Lanka and the UK are signatories to the United Nations human rights conventions, which means we both have an obligation to uphold the highest standard of human rights”.
Last week, the international panel International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), appointed by the international community to monitor Sri Lanka’s handling of the rights abuses, condemned the country for its inability to address the rights issues.
Despite all the violence and the human rights abuses, he said the British and Norwegian governments and the wider international community want to see “Sri Lanka remain as a single country”.
However, he acknowledged the discrimination of the government against the Tamils, and said “Sri Lanka needs a sustainable political solution, one that allows its Tamil population to feel they will be able to prosper within a Sri Lankan state that takes pride in the identity of all its people”.
He urged the government to work with the “moderate Tamils” to find a solution to the conflict.
