On the 15th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, British MP, from across the political ailse, have gathered to call for accountability and justice for the attrocities committed against Tamils during the armed conflict.
UK Foreign Secretary - Lord Cameron
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In his statement, Lord David Cameron, stressed Britain's focus on improving human rights on the island of Sri Lanka and supporting meaningful progress that will allow those on the island to "remember their loved ones freely".
His statement further reflected on 2013 travel to Jaffna. The statement reads:
“As we mark the 15th anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, my thoughts are with all those killed and disappeared, and with their loved ones who continue to search for answers [...] I heard first-hand about the devastating consequences of the war when I visited Northern Sri Lanka in 2013. There I made a commitment that the UK would support truth, justice, and accountability for all."
The British High Commission in Colombo has also released the following statement:
15 years on, we remember those who died and disappeared during the conflict in Sri Lanka, including families still searching for their loved ones. Reconciliation is possible only when meaningful progress is made on truth and justice, and the right to remember is respected.
— UK in Sri Lanka (@UKinSriLanka) May 18, 2024
The UK must take a decisive stance in ensuring justice for the Tamils - Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Secretary of State
Thangam Debbonaire, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said that as much as Mullivaikkal is a day to remember the ones we've lost, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. "The Sri Lankan government has had more than 15 years since the end of the conflict but has frustrated any meaningful investigation and failed to fulfil assurances it gave the international community to deliver justice for Tamil victims," she stressed.
On Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, we commemorate the tens of thousands of Tamil people who were killed in the final stages of the Sri Lankan War. pic.twitter.com/jqC51WDM5Q
— Thangam Debbonaire (@ThangamMP) May 17, 2024
Debbonaire called on the British government to support the Tamil community and take a decisive role in ensuring the Sri Lankan government takes immediate action to promote justice and accountability. She emphasised the importance of considering the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommendations to refer those responsible for these war crimes to the International Criminal Court.
Politicians, including Rt Honorable Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, Steve Tuckwell, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and Louie French, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, shared video messages expressing solidarity and offering condolences to Tamils on Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day.
MP for Chipping Barnet - Theresa Villiers
MP Theresa Villiers marked the memorial reflected on the thousands of Tamils who were killed during the final phase of the armed conflict.
MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup - Louise French
MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip - Steve Tuckwell
MP for Harrow West - Gareth Thomas
MP for Harrow West, Gareth Thomas, also issued a statement pushing the government to follow the lead of the US and Canada and impose Magnitsky style sanctions on Sri Lankan officials credibly accused of war crimes, such as Shavendra Silva.
For many of my Tamil residents, the events of 15 years ago are still raw. 15 years since Mullivaikkal & the end of armed ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, we must continue to push the Govt for Magnitsky style sanctions on accused Sri Lankan war criminals, as US & Canada already have. pic.twitter.com/T9ScgNo2Ke
— Gareth Thomas MP (@GarethThomasMP) May 18, 2024
