MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
5.9.2006
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Jean Lambert, Frithjof Schmidt, gérard Onesta et Raúl Romeva
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on Sri Lanka
B6‑0471/06
European Parliament resolution on Sri Lanka
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Sri Lanka and notably those of February and June 2006,
- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in recent months after talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 23 February 2006 in Geneva ended without result Sri Lanka has returned to the brink of full-scale war,
B. whereas according to UN sources due to the hostilities over 1000 people have been killed and 220 000 have been displaced since April of this year alone,
C. whereas the city of Jaffna has been cut off from supplies since August 11, endangering the survival of around half a million citizens with the addition of about 50 000 refugees from neighbouring frontline areas,
D. whereas 17 aid workers, employees of the French Branch of the international humanitarian agency Action Against Hunger were found shot dead on August 6 in the agency's office in Muttur,
E. whereas the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) concluded on 30 August, that the 17 staff members had been executed by government forces, with the argument, that the area was controlled by the security forces at the time of the incident, the government refused to let truce monitors go to the scene immediately after the discovery of the bodies and testimonies from 'highly reliable sources',
F. whereas humanitarian aid workers enjoy particular protection under humanitarian law and the summary execution of the staff of Action Against Hunger represents a serious war crime and represents the worst massacre against international humanitarian aid workers since the attack on the UN building in Bagdad in 2003,
G. whereas the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross announced a possible withdrawal of its personnel unless the security situation improves and UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland threatened to suspend all aid operations unless people will be held accountable for the murder of the 17 aid workers,
H. whereas UN Representative for Tsunami Reconstruction, Eric Schwartz, expressed concern that the Sri Lankan authorities refuse to grant work permits to hundreds of aid workers in order to bar them from access to the conflict zones,
I. whereas after the unfortunate EU move to include the LTTE in the list of terrorist organisations, the LTTE set an ultimatum for the EU truce monitors from Sweden, Denmark and Finland who formed part of the SLMM to leave Sri Lanka for the 1st of September, which reduces the SLMM from 56 members to 20 from Norway and Island,
1. Expresses its grave disappointment over the relapse of Sri Lanka into war;
2. Strongly criticizes the different warring fractions for their stunning disregard for the suffering which their belligerent actions have been imposing on the civil population and calls on both sides to make public commitments to abide by international humanitarian law;
3. Insists that there can be no military solution to the conflict and calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to immediately return to the negotiating table;
4. Condemns in strongest terms the murder of the 17 aid workers of Action Against Hunger by the Sri Lankan Security Services, insists that this crime is of a principal order and puts into question the security of humanitarian workers worldwide;
5. Is highly concerned that a possible withdrawal of the UN and the Red Cross from Sri Lanka would render the already precarious situation of hundreds of thousands of people in the North of the Jaffna peninsula even more devastating and insists that it is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government to act in a way that makes sure international aid reaches its citizens;
6. Supports the call for an independent Committee of Inquiry as requested by Ulf Hendricsson, SLMM chief observer, into the murder of the members of Action Against Hunger;
7. Welcomes President Mahinda Rajapaks's announcement on 4 September that the government would form an independent commission and urges the government to invite the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to mount this effort with a general mandate to inquire into the human rights violations which occurred since April;
8. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to make all its information on the case public, to bring the responsible to justice and to take firm measures in order to guarantee the safety of humanitarian aid workers in the future;
9. Calls on the Government and the LTTE to grant unhindered access for humanitarian aid workers, UN organisations and truce monitors to all parts of the country;
10. Calls on the Government and the Tamil Tigers to come to a rapid understanding on regular supplies to Jaffna;
11. Expresses its consternation about positions which the Tsunami reconstruction authority RADA has taken in public, accusing aid workers to be responsible for slow reconstruction by storing money in bank accounts in order to take advantage of the interest rates;
12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to freeze all additional Tsunami reconstruction aid until an independent evaluation has established the reasons and responsibilities for the strong delays in the Tsunami reconstruction and the Sri Lankan government has presented a credible framework for its future relationship with humanitarian aid organisations and their staff;
13. Expresses its support for the work of the SLMM, and is concerned about the reduction of its seize; calls on the Council to support financially or technically any measure that could make up for the loss and adjust the SLMM equipment to match the challenges of its task;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of the other members of the Co-Chairs Group Norway, USA and Japan, as well as the governments of Switzerland, Sri Lanka and the other SAARC countries and the LTTE.