"SELF DETERMINATION IS KEY TO THE WORLD PEACE"
Independent Investigation: Which side is the Government on?
[Friday, 22 July 2011 21:30] Featured, General, News
- MR Graham Williamson
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ACT NOW NEWS 61: Sri Lanka investigation – Which side is the governing party on? 1
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011, 14:54
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Independent Investigation: Which side is the Government on?
The UN Advisory Panel report and the Channel 4 documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing fields’ confirmed what we had been saying for the last two years: that Government forces had indiscriminately fired and bombed into the the so-called ‘No Fire Zone’ and that at least 40,000 innocent civilians had been killed. Whether they knew before or not many western politicians could no longer deny the seriousness of the issue and calls for an independent investigation have significantly increased.
Whilst the Prime Minister accepted that there should be just such an investigation and the Foreign Secretary concurs, it looks as if the Conservative Party, crucially the party in power, is not united on this issue?
Will the real Conservative Party stand up?
In the EU Parliament, Geoffrey Van Orden M.E.P is a notorious supporter of the Sri Lankan Government. Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Friends of Sri Lanka group he has used his position to block an attempt to get the EU Parliament to support an independent investigation and recently said at the EU debate that the C4 video is a malicious approach against the Lankan Government by extremists of the Tamil Diaspora. He also said "let us do all we can to support the government of Sri Lanka, instead of attacking them."
Worse still we have the Defence Secretary Liam Fox MP, who recently gave the annual Lakshman Kadirgamar oration in Sri Lanka. He planned to do so last year, around the time of the Sri Lankan President’s abandoned visit to Oxford, but was persuaded by an embarrassed Foreign Office to cancel. Whilst there this time, he once again he called for Sri Lanka to use their Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) body (described as ‘deeply flawed’ by the UN) to investigate events and met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris. For reasons only known to himself Liam Fox, has consistently taken a pro-GOSL line.
His actions however send the wrong signal to Sri Lanka, that they will be able to get away with an internal (and an inevitable whitewash) investigation. It is time the British Government told Messrs Fox and Orden to stop backing Sri Lanka!
Stop backing Sri Lanka Campaign!
We are launching a ‘Stop backing Sri Lanka!’ campaign directed at the Defence Secretary Liam Fox. The first action is an e-mail letter to the Conservative Party asking them to tell Fox and Orden to stop backing Sri Lanka and start backing the victims! We want an independent investigation i.e. not an internal one into what happened in the last weeks of the war and their statements are sending the wrong signal to Sri Lanka!
Please copy n’ paste the message below and send to chairman@conservatives.com now!
Dear Sir/Madam,
Following the showing of the Channel 4 television documentary accusing Sri Lanka’s military of mass killings of civilians in the final months of the island’s war in early 2009, the British Prime Minister agreed that there needs to be an ‘Independent Investigation’ of what happened. British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has also commented that "The UK Government expects to see progress by the end of the year. If the Sri Lankan government does not respond we will support the international community in revisiting all options available to press the Sri Lankan Government to fulfil its obligations."
Unfortunately other important members of the Conservative Party are supporting the Sri Lankan regime, especially the MEP for Eastern England Geoffrey Orden and the Defence Minister, Dr Liam Fox.
Very recently the Defence Secretary visited Sri Lanka, met with President Mahinda Rajapakasa and delivered a lecture. This visit, given the credible allegations of Government war crimes by a UN Panel of Experts and by Channel 4, risks sending mixed messages. On the one hand, despite the UK government’s repeated calls for impartial investigations, Dr Fox professes support for the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ (LLRC) appointed by the Sri Lanka government, despite the UN Panel’s report criticizing the body as "deeply flawed.” By now it should already be clear to anyone that, after more than two years, the Sri Lankan government has comprehensively failed to produce an independent and transparent investigation into allegations of war crimes, and evidence of summary executions by government forces has never been properly investigated.
I implore you to ask Dr Fox, Geoffrey Orden and any others of your party to desist from giving Sri Lankan Government succour and instead to get behind our PM’s call for an ‘Independent Investigation’.
Yours sincerely,
<Your name>
We shall be organising a leafleting and demonstration in Dr Fox’s constituency (North Somerset) next month. If you are interested in being involved e-mail us now!
C4 DVD’s going out to a thousand church’s and community groups!
A supporter has produced a thousand copies of the Channel 4 documentary to post out with an Act Now letter to church and community leaders. This is one way to influence concerned opinion. Well done that man!
Have you signed the Global Petition yet?
In October the HRC will debate the issue of an independent investigation. We need as many messages asking them to support one.
If you haven’t yet signed do so at http://www.act-now.info/Site1/War_Crimes_Appeal.html now!
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Global Peace Support Group UK Ltd is a registered organisation based in London. The organisation dedicated to be involved in humanitarian and other related issues. We also work along with other similar organisations to promote peace and harmony among various societies..
GLOBAL PEACE SUPPORT GROUP - UK - TIRELESSLY WORK ON THE CONCEPT OF:
"SELF DETERMINATION IS KEY TO THE WORLD PEACE"
MOURNS ON THE CONTINUED TRAGEDY OF THE PEOPLE OF North & East of Tamil EELAM WITH THE HOPE OF ALL OF OUR ENDEAVOURS WOULD BRING AN END TO THOSE SUFFERING DURING THE YEAR AHEAD.
The International community has a duty towards the long suffering Sri Lankan Tamil population to restore their rights of SELF DETERMINATION.
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