Some people may wonder if the House of Lords generates much publicity. Does anyone really know what’s going on in the Lords? The answer can be surprising.
On the 27th February I posed a question in the Chamber: “My Lords, the Government of Sri Lanka have already announced that they are prepared to hold unconditional talks with the LTTE. In light of that, what are we doing in this country to ensure that proscribed, and related, organisations are not collecting funds for the purchase of arms to destabilise that process?” A question of this nature generates an unexpected level of emails, letters and press from those both for and against the peace process, such that my office is still working on the issue. Without adequate help it would be impossible for one peer to deal with the large number of comments and I am grateful to have this help. This is an important example of debates generating a large response and shows me that what the House of Lords is doing is relevant and still sparks interest.
So who says no-one takes note of Hansard?
mySociety and TheyWorkForYou can tell you just how many people want, and signed up for, bits of Hansard in their inboxes every day.
Dear Lord Dholakia,
Thank you for raising issues on Sri Lanka. Whilst I completely support your request to ensure the crackdown on the collection of funds for the purchase of arms to destabilise that process, unfortunately it sadens me of your naivety towards the Sri Lankan government’s very empty statements of ‘uncoditional’ talks with the LTTE.
You must ensure the pressure to end the violence must be preached to both parties…. not just to those that are proscribed and labelled as terrorists. The Government of Sri Lanka have continously preached this apparent readiness for a negotiated settlement on the one side and on the other that military is the only solution and he has vowed to make the Tamil Tigers ‘extinct’.
Tamils are tired of the international community turning a blind eye to President Rajapakse’s genocide cloaked under the ‘war on terror’ banner. He is using it like a passport to impunity over human rights violations, abductions, disappearances and state terror.
There is no simple solution to this ethnic conflict so there is no use trying to take short cuts. There have been too many mistakes over the decades for Tamils to have sudden faith in what is clearly an undemocratic system.
For there to be a chance of any kind of settlement, those that started the violence must vow to stop it and all parties must be allowed at the table. How can one be allowed to commit state genocide and the other be a proscribed terrorist organisation? How is that fair representation?
K Rajah
Dear Lord Dholakia,
We are pleased to note that you are taking keen interest in Sri Lankan affairs.
My personal view is that when Lords speak in the House of Lords the news must be unbiased.
I am sure you heard the news that Sri Lanka have been kicked out from the UNHRC for gross violation of Human Rights. These violations include bombing from air indiscriminately killing civilians.
Government forces raping young girls and women, killing Charity workers, Journalists and elected Tamil Parliamentarians. These have been continuing with impunity. As you are well aware there is no press freedom in Sri Lanka. Journalists are being intimidated and killed. As recently as last week a journalist in the north was hacked to death in the north.
As I mentioned before Lords and Baronnesses must be unbiased and reasonable not only in the house but also outside when they attend Public meetings.
Your fellow Lord, Lord Naseby who also takes a keen interest in Sri Lankan affairs in one of the Public meetings conducted by FCO and Chaired by Minister of State Lord Malloch-Brown, Lord Naseby said “I am a trained Pilot myself. When you bomb from air civilians do get killed”. Say for instance during the IRA struggle if the British government had decided to bomb parts of northern Ireland and killed Civilians would Lord Naseby be able to give the same comments to the people of Northern Ireland.
My point is that Lords and Baronnesses have to be unbiased and reasonable and more importantly do sufficient research on the subject matter they raise in the House of Lords.
One must have the heart to let the head think before the mouth opens.
The UK, the EU and the OECD have produced Guidelines on Development Assistance in situations of violent conflict by systematic research. It’s hell for the oppressed when individual British politicians are invited(when journalists have been i.prevented from entering the Northeast at crucial times over the last fifty years and ii. tortured/killed in not only in the Northeast but also in Colombo) by Sri Lankan government and taken on ‘conducted tours’ by the Sri Lankan Army and on their return (unashamedly) tell the Houses of parliament unweighed facts.
These irrational politicians are not only ignoring the systematic research done by the British universities on behalf of the government but also playing with the feeble lives left after 60 years of political and economic oppression:
”By 2010, half of the world’s poorest people could be living in states that are experiencing, or at risk of, violent conflict. Tackling violent conflict and its underlying causes is essential if we are to make progress in the fight against world poverty. Without addressing violent conflict, we will not achieve international security, stability and the protection of basic human rights for all. To do this requires collective action; by the UK government; by civil society and by international bodies such as the UN and the African Union. This paper was developed in consultation with other UK Government departments, principally the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office and sets out DFID’s contribution to that collective effort” – Rt Hon Hilary Benn, Preventing Violent Conflict, DfID Policy(2006)
Research findings are irrespective of which Party is in power.
Lord Dholakia loves Sinhalese more than Tamils?
Then he can listen to the Sinhalese:
Sri Lanka: Lost in the wilderness? Prof S. T. Hettige, Dept of Sociology, University of Colombo, June 19, 2006:
”People and politicians in Sri Lanka get together to seek divine help to deal with existential problems that in many secular democracies in the west as well as the in the east have been effectively addressed by rational state intervention, guided not by spiritual leaders, but by scientists and professionals.
Sri Lanka and Asymmetrical Devolution – Is it a solution? By Raj Gonsalkorale, Asian Tribune, June 2006: ”It is the folly of successive Sri Lankan governments that paved the way for the emergence of the LTTE. Some of the Constitutional changes since 1956, and the aborted agreements between the Sinhala dominated governments and democratic Tamil political parties have demonstrated this reality, making Tamils rightfully distrustful of the Sinhala people and their political representatives.”
These articles were written soon after the President made a frantic ”proposal” thirteen months ago that was condemned widely by Sinhalese civil societies, human rights activists, scholars and journalists. The president produced this as a proposal of his party to counteract the proposal(that amounted to federalism) made by the ”All Party Representative Committee” . Actually All Party Representative Committee has his party in it but not the UNP and the TNA.
War or Peace in Sri Lanka – TDSA Dissanayake(2004): ”In 1948, the basic qualification for citizenship for aliens anywhere in the world was five years as a permanent resident. For example Ceylonese who had lived in the UK for five years were eligible for citizenship. The Burghers who migrated to Australia needed permanent residence of five years before becoming citizens of Australia. The plantation labour from South India had lived in Ceylon for 75 years or more. However all except those whose parents were born in Ceylon were disenfranchised in terms of The Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948. The seven Members of Parliament from the Ceylon Indian Congress suddenly lost their right to re-contest their seats in the next parliament.”
Political economy of Internal conflict in Sri Lanka, SWR de A Samarasinghe(2003): ”Donor funding has been crucial to Sri Lanka’s economic survival in the past twenty years. Some of the major donors, most notably Japan , tried to work around the conflict. Some others, notably Nordic countries and Canada became more sensitive to the possible linkages with the ‘Do No Harm’ principle.”
Dear Lord Dholakia,
First of all I would like to thank you for raising this issue in the House.
Last 60 years all successive governments of Sri Lanka are smart enough to put out of sight the root cause of the war. The Sri Lankan government and its international propaganda machine have worked very well to diverting the public and media attention by getting on the bandwagon of “War on Terror”.
When ever valuable time of the House of commences or the House of Lords are used to discuss serious issues relating to Sri Lanka, someone will distract by discussing some asinine issue. We all have good faith in Metropolitan police and other police forces in the UK on doing their duties to an excellent level. They have exhibited this in several critical situations. The forces will be on the watch and monitoring all proscribed organizations and their activities in the UK. My humble request to all the Lords and Baronesses please discuss the core Issues to solve the problems rather than micro manages tasks which the Police are quite capable of doing themselves.
I would like to bring to your attention, during last 60 years; successive governments in Sri Lanka did not implement any Pacts or International Agreements relating to Tamil struggle. Please do your research carefully; Many Responsible Ministers and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka have stated contradicting statements time and time again in public meeting to the one you were quoting. Don’t fall for the trick; ask them what concrete steps they are taking for negotiations.
Daily people get killed in Sri Lanka, if an incident happens in South of the Island it is well publicized and the media gives a huge coverage, but on the other hand killings on the North and East are simply hidden, not even as a news. This will push more and more innocent civilians of the NorthEast in to violence and pushes them in to violence means of reacting. As a British Citizen, am ashamed that my government is associating it self with state terrorism of Sri Lanka.
Just an example, today six innocent civiliance killed in the North of Sri Lanka no news until now on BBC.
This is the BBC south Asian page link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/default.stm
This is Tamilnet : http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=25866
Please be responsible, fair, reasonable and impartial
Thank you
Deran
Dear Lord Dholakia
Thank you for raising the issues on Srilanka in House of Lords. I am in agreement with the previous contributor Mr Rajah.
Tamils are peace loving community who have been repeatedly betrayed and deceived by the government that fails to understand the meaning of human right. Those who have followed the history of Srilanka would agree that the Tamils have been politically, economically and structurally marginalised by the Government of Srilanka (GoS).
I wonder the reason for selective blindness of international communities to the state terrorism unfolded by GoS and it paratroops. GoS has repeatedly not only tried to fool the Tamils but also the International communities/ diplomats by repeatedly withdrawing unilaterally from peace negotiations.
The oppressed Tamils aspirations and the cries have fallen into deaf ears when the oppressing GoS’s false propaganda is being blindly heard by the international world. Whilst I support your interest to bring peace to the Island my pleaed to you/ the international community to take an objective, evidence based approach and listen to all the aspiring people of the Island.
All what my peace loving Tamils seek is to respect our basic human rights and respect our civil liberty.
While I support the action you have raised against terrorism, I also condemn any human right violation by any group or by state. A solution is only achievable if the cause of the problem is eradicated.
Dear Noble Lord Dholakia,
You hold a position which gives you the power and membership of the highest establishment of justice of the land. It goes without saying that neutrality is key of being a judge who can rule on any case with the facts as presented.
We also live in a land where until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt all are innocent! How fortunate we are and we fail to recognise that many citizens of other countries will be envious of us. One such country is Sri Lanka.
I do not envy your Noble Lord’s predicament as it is an immense responsibility to remain unbiased in the Sri Lankan issue when you hold personal friendships with Lords who have openly admitted to be paid ‘servants’ of the Government of Sri Lanka.
It is with great interest that I read this afternoon of your recent encounter with the man who some recognised international institutions have branded as one of the worst perpetrators of human rights abuses. I am sure your Noble Lord did do the ‘right thing’ in asking politely of his views on being kicked out of the United Nations Human Rights Council only a few weeks ago and how he intends progressing in improving from the status quo, when he is officially colluding with an armed paramilitary in governing the masses of the East of Sri Lanka holding a gun to their heads.
I am confident that at the next opportunity you will get at the House of Lords to ask or comment on issues of Sri Lanka, your Lordship will prove your neutrality to the tax paying masses of this country to whom you are ultimately responsible. I am one of those, who also happen to be of the Sri Lankan Tamil decent.
Yours sincerely,
Thanam