Sri Lanka

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Elliot Colburn]

I am grateful for that intervention. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member, but I would add an extra layer to that. The difficulty in Sri Lanka is not just that people are being held on false pretences and false charges, but that a gravely high number of people are still missing. We do not know where they are or where they are being held, so we cannot help them. If they are still alive, there is no way to help them. That is the grave situation that islanders are facing at the moment.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended that states, including the UK, sanction Silva and other alleged perpetrators in Sri Lanka, as the United States did in 2020. Another individual worth noting is Kamal Gunaratne, who is the current Defence Secretary in Sri Lanka. In February 2009, he led the final assault from the south on the beaches at Mullivaikkal as the 53 Division commander. The assault involved repeated attacks on civilian hospitals, makeshift hospitals and food distribution points, and resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties. He was also in charge of displaced persons while hundreds of thousands of civilians were held in arbitrary detention after the end of the war, and he was commander of the Joseph army camp, which was notorious for torture.

By sanctioning those two individuals and many others, the UK Government would support UN and US action in demonstrating that alleged perpetrators of mass atrocities are not welcome in the UK. Members of the APPG for Tamils have raised this issue multiple times in the Chamber, as well as privately and through other channels with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, so I hope that the Minister will today provide an encouraging update on the Government’s position regarding the sanctioning of individuals credibly accused of war crimes.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Member for bringing forward this debate. I am minded of the fact that although the officers give the commands, the soldiers who carry them out are also accountable. When it comes to having their time in court, which we hope they will, does he agree that it is important to do everything to catch those soldiers as well? The generals can be caught, because they are big names, but the soldiers need to know that they cannot get away with it either.

[Elliot Colburn]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I hope that the UK sees that the new resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council about collecting evidence should indeed include the specific soldiers who committed those atrocities as well.

The past atrocities that occurred in Sri Lanka are only one of the reasons we are having this debate. The second part of the motion is about the current economic and political instability there. The country is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. It defaulted on $51 billion of external debt in mid-April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $2.9 billion bailout.

Due to a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports, there have been shortages of basic necessities, including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food, so 3.4 million people are now in need of urgent humanitarian help on the island. UN agencies working in Sri Lanka announced yesterday that they had raised $79 million to feed those in need, but the increasing number of those in need means that another estimated $70 million is needed.

In July, the new President imposed a state of emergency after his predecessor fled the country and resigned from his post following massive anti-Government protests about the Government’s mishandling of the economy, which threw the country into further instability. The FCDO updated its travel advice over the summer to advise against all but essential travel to the island, due to the political and economic instability. The causes of Sri Lanka’s financial crisis are multifaceted.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I am pleased to speak in this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker. I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) for securing it and for setting the scene so well. It is never easy to listen when some of the atrocities are explicitly described. I always find it difficult to respond because they annoy me and I think they annoy us all. It is disturbing to think of the brutality of man upon woman, man upon man or man upon children.

I declare an interest as chair of the all-party group for international freedom of religion or belief. Chairing that group has given me a deep insight into the issue of persecution, the abuse of the right to freedom of religion or belief and its impact on wider society, including on the economic situation of a country. I was pleased to hear some of the fantastic speeches from right hon. and hon. Members. Their depth of knowledge of the subject matter and of Sri Lanka has added to the debate. We look forward to the Minister’s response and to hearing what we in this country can do to help the Sri Lankans who been abused so terribly over the last period of time.

The right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) referred to the amount of money that was spent on military equipment. That caught my attention because two or three weeks ago, a story in the national press stated that the Sri Lankan Government had spent a vast amount of money on military equipment that they could not even afford to pay for. It makes me wonder why any country or company would sell if Sri Lanka does not have the ability to pay, but that underlines the issue. She also said that the situation is reinforced by a suppressive security policy from the Sri Lankan Government—a corrupt, violent, brutal Government who must be held accountable for their deadly crimes. Whether we are talking about their officers, their soldiers or whoever it may be, they need to be made accountable, as others have said.

I will focus on persecution. Three years ago, Sri Lanka ranked 30th on the Open Doors world watch list—a list of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. This year, it dropped off the list, not because the situation is getting better for Christians or other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, but because the persecution of religious or belief minorities is getting worse around the world. Sri Lanka is still carrying out despicable crimes, and there are still human rights issues and the persecution of religious groups. That has not stopped and I will illustrate that by describing some of the things that have happened in Sri Lanka.

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful contribution. He spoke, importantly, about what we can do as Members and about what the Government can do. Does he agree that cutting international aid is possibly one of the worst things that we can do? In fact, we need an increase, and, as the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) said, properly implementing the Magnitsky sanctions, which the Government have roundly failed to do, is also incredibly important.

[Jim Shannon]

Yes, I agree. Hopefully, when the Minister responds, he will give us some encouragement on the hon. Lady’s request, which others have made, in relation to foreign aid and the Magnitsky sanctions.

It is critical, in the current climate of escalating human rights abuses in places such as Afghanistan, China and Russia, that we do not ignore the plight of Christians and other religious, belief or ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a diverse country where there are complex divisions between ethnic and religious communities. Freedom of religion or belief is guaranteed by the constitution, but despite that protection, the abuse of that fundamental right is widespread and has only increased in recent years. Christians, Muslims, Hindus and other religious minorities suffer abusive Government regulations that disproportionately affect their communities, and they endure discrimination that is unnoticed and ignored by authorities, with perpetrators escaping with impunity. The law of the land, and the Government of the land, let that happen. Tensions remain unresolved in the wake of the civil war, and recent terror attacks and the covid-19 pandemic have worsened the situation. I recall that not so many years ago Sri Lanka was a holiday destination where people wanted to go, but after everything that has been happening, that is no longer the case.

In the past couple of months, the changes to sections 291A and 291B of the penal code, alongside the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act and the misuse of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, have been used to target members of religious minorities. I ask the Minister what discussions have taken place with the Sri Lankan Government to ensure that those laws are not used to the detriment of religious minority communities, which is what is happening. If they are being used abusively, vindictively and maliciously, we need to do something to change that.

Last month, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the Sri Lankan authorities were using these laws to unfairly target minorities and critics of the Government. The former UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has noted that, far from protecting religious communities, blasphemy allegations have

“ironically become a repressive tool used for curtailing freedom of thought or opinion, conscience, and religion or belief.”

It is always worrying whenever legislation is used in an oppressive, vindictive, violent and malicious way, which is quite clearly what is happening. False allegations of blasphemy or terrorism have resulted in sentences of 20 years for those who criticise the Government.

Freedom of religion or belief is important not just because it protects the rights of the most vulnerable in society, but because it is a right that fosters respect among others, reduces corruption, encourages broader freedoms, develops the economy and multiplies international trust in a country. It is clear to me as chair of the APPG for international freedom of religion or belief that we must speak up for those with a Christian belief, for those with another belief and for those with no belief. That is what I believe in my heart, because I believe that our God is a God of love. I seek parity and equality for all those who express a religion or belief.

According to the Pew Research Centre, eight of the 10 most corrupt countries have high or very high governmental restrictions on religious liberties. Religious freedom contributes to better economic and business outcomes. Advances in religious freedom are in the self-interest of businesses, Governments and societies. The fact that the Sri Lankan Government take such a lax view of human rights and religious liberties is incredibly worrying.

When we look at the economic situation in Sri Lanka and its trade with the UK, it is vital that we focus on human rights. At Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions yesterday, I asked the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Trevelyan), whether she and the Government will uphold human rights and religious freedoms in their deals with Sri Lanka. She replied in a very positive fashion, which I hope might be a taste of a future in which human rights, justice and accountability are key to everything we do on trade. I encourage the Government to build on the Minister’s answer yesterday and ensure that progress includes the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief for all.

I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington again for securing the debate, and I thank all hon. Members who have contributed in a very positive way. It is unfortunately not a debate that has much heart-warming content, but this place gives us a chance to be a voice for the voiceless and speak up for those who have nobody to speak for them.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Scottish National party spokesman, Chris Law.