UK Parliament / Open data

Sri Lanka

Adjournment debate on Wednesday, 2 May 2007, in the House of Commons, led by Kim Howells. The answering member was Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.
Debate on a motion for the adjournment on the situation in Sri Lanka.
Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
459 c1551-616 
Session
2006-07
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Kim Howells | 459 c1555 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend, through no fault of his own, missed that part of my speech. If he will forgive...
Ed Davey | 459 c1555 (Link to this contribution) I must add my apologies for lateness. The Minister clearly wants to ensure that there is a balanced...

Show all contributions (124)
Kim Howells | 459 c1555 (Link to this contribution) I take my hon. Friend’s point, which is something that we have to consider. However, I have to tell ...
Peter Luff | 459 c1556 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Minister on his balanced approach to a sensitive and difficult subject. He has be...
Kim Howells | 459 c1555-6 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is not to know this, but we have had quite a number of meetings with Tamil groups...
Andrew Love | 459 c1557 (Link to this contribution) Considerable concern and criticism have been expressed about the Sri Lankan Government’s failure to ...
Kim Howells | 459 c1556-7 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman made that point well—I could not have made it more vividly. The Tamil community ...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1557-61 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Minister on his calm and balanced introduction to the debate. We have had a good ...
Kim Howells | 459 c1557 (Link to this contribution) We have attempted, through all diplomatic channels, to clarify for the Sri Lankan Government our det...
Kim Howells | 459 c1551-2 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That this House do now adjourn. I am pleased to have this opportunity today to debat...
Kim Howells | 459 c1553 (Link to this contribution) I cannot tell my hon. Friend whether that is true. I do not know; this is the first that I have hear...
Chris Mullin | 459 c1553 (Link to this contribution) Would I be right in thinking that the Norwegian general who was based in Sri Lanka advised the EU ag...
Kim Howells | 459 c1552-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right: the list of crimes by this faction is long. We have been exchanging int...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1552 (Link to this contribution) Is the Minister aware of the comment made by the FBI assistant director in charge, who said"““Karuna...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1554-5 (Link to this contribution) I, too, apologise for arriving late, having been caught out by the business moving so swiftly. I th...
Kim Howells | 459 c1554 (Link to this contribution) That suggestion is well worth considering. I will come to the question of a monitoring organisation ...
Andrew Love | 459 c1553 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, and I apologise for arriving too late to hear the start of hi...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 459 c1566-7 (Link to this contribution) I have a view, but I would not want to propose it to either side in Sri Lanka as a solution to thing...
Andrew Love | 459 c1567 (Link to this contribution) During his trip to Sri Lanka, my right hon. Friend will have received delegations from the Muslim co...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1569 (Link to this contribution) Speaking for myself, I share that view. I understand why the organisation was proscribed, but I agre...
Jeremy Corbyn | 459 c1569 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will recall that he and I have often attended Tamil events in Trafalgar square. D...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1570 (Link to this contribution) I do agree. In Northern Ireland, the conversation was sometimes carried on through intermediaries. H...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1570 (Link to this contribution) I understand where the hon. Gentleman is going with his argument, but the remarks of my right hon. F...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1568 (Link to this contribution) I very much welcome this debate and the contributions of the Minister and of the right hon. Member f...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 459 c1567-8 (Link to this contribution) It is a vital part of the process. As part of the peace-making negotiations in Northern Ireland, the...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1568-9 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely—says a Scot. Thank goodness the competition comes around again once every four years. I ...
Andrew Love | 459 c1568 (Link to this contribution) At least they got to the final.
Andrew Love | 459 c1561 (Link to this contribution) I have listened carefully to the hon. Gentleman’s speech, and I accept the general thrust of his rem...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1563-4 (Link to this contribution) I welcome that intervention. Of course, we should be totally even-handed. It is wrong for outside ob...
Jim Dowd | 459 c1563 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has justifiably spent much of his speech criticising the LTTE and many of the out...
Ed Davey | 459 c1562 (Link to this contribution) Further to the previous two points, it is also important to stress that the ceasefire agreement that...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1562 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention; I did not know about that visit. Any such dia...
Peter Luff | 459 c1562 (Link to this contribution) I hope that, when the Minister responds to the debate, he will be able to confirm that our deputy hi...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1561-2 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. I hope that my speech has made it crystal clear that there...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1566 (Link to this contribution) On the Norwegians and the peace process, does the right hon. Gentleman think that externalising the ...
Kim Howells | 459 c1576 (Link to this contribution) We are not taken in by anybody’s spin or attempt to subvert what we hope will be the even-handed tre...
Sadiq Khan | 459 c1574-6 (Link to this contribution) I have never visited Sri Lanka. My knowledge of the problems in Sri Lanka stems from my experience a...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1576 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has made many important statements on the Floor of the House, and the statement that ...
Sadiq Khan | 459 c1576 (Link to this contribution) I welcome my hon. Friend’s comments, which will be welcomed and received in the spirit in which they...
Sadiq Khan | 459 c1576-8 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful for that intervention from my friend and hon. Friend. I deliberately made a ...
Peter Luff | 459 c1578-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a great privilege, Madam Deputy Speaker, to be called to speak in this debate, which is on a v...
Peter Luff | 459 c1580 (Link to this contribution) Of course, that is a geopolitical point that one cannot argue with. However, India has to play its c...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1580 (Link to this contribution) We all recognise that India’s involvement in this problem is very sensitive, as well as what happene...
Peter Luff | 459 c1580 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend is right. I sincerely hope that that process is already happening. Fu...
Jeremy Corbyn | 459 c1571 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman checks, I think he will find that the issue started somewhat earlier, with the...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1571 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is exactly right. Sri Lanka became independent in 1949, nearly 60 years ago. The ...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1570-1 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way to me again, and I shall try not to trespass on h...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1572 (Link to this contribution) I do not know the up-to-date position, I have not recently had a conversation with the Tamil leaders...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1572 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman clarify what position he and his party are adopting? Is he really saying to ...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1571-2 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, the hon. Gentleman is right. He and I are roughly the same age and it was at about the time ...
Peter Luff | 459 c1572 (Link to this contribution) What is the hon. Gentleman’s assessment of the LTTE’s commitment to democracy? The apparent absence ...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1573-4 (Link to this contribution) I do. There is lots of good practice. As we all know, lots of countries in the world are having to t...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1573 (Link to this contribution) I can be very specific. Our view as a party—it is my view also—is that the conflict will be brought ...
Andrew Love | 459 c1573 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman welcome the process instituted by the Government of Sri Lanka to draw on the...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1581 (Link to this contribution) My intervention on the right hon. Member for Torfaen about proscription was important. The Sri Lanka...
Peter Luff | 459 c1581 (Link to this contribution) We are in a chicken-and-egg situation. I fully understand my hon. Friend’s point. It is always diffi...
Justine Greening | 459 c1581 (Link to this contribution) The key point is the trend in the escalation in violence. One can make a comparison with the IRA and...
Peter Luff | 459 c1580-1 (Link to this contribution) That is a conundrum. I have to say that I support the Government in allowing the organisation to rem...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1580 (Link to this contribution) But if an organisation remains proscribed and isolated, how can it participate in a dialogue that co...
Baroness Kramer | 459 c1585 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that many members of the Tamil community who have absolutely no ...
Peter Luff | 459 c1581-2 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is vital that both sides take courageous steps to achieve t...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1582-5 (Link to this contribution) It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff) because of his...
Peter Luff | 459 c1581 (Link to this contribution) I note my hon. Friend’s comment, which speaks for itself. I do not want Sri Lanka to become a polit...
Lee Scott | 459 c1581 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the most important messages that we can send today is that the...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1587 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman, who is the new secretary of the all-party parliamentary Ta...
Andrew Pelling | 459 c1587 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman has spoken of our role here. We represent many members of the Tamil diaspor...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1586-7 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is allowed to make a correction, but not another speech in the middle of mine. W...
Speaker | 459 c1586 (Link to this contribution) Order. As the hon. Gentleman knows, interventions are to be brief.
Peter Luff | 459 c1586 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of correction, may I correct myself? I was seeking to convey to the House not that su...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1586 (Link to this contribution) I am more than happy to be corrected by my hon. Friend, and am happy to use that terminology in the ...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1586 (Link to this contribution) I make the point with considerable trepidation, but my right hon. Friend referred to the British Gov...
Kim Howells | 459 c1585 (Link to this contribution) To reassure my right hon. Friend, I can tell him that I will shortly go back to Sri Lanka, and I hop...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1585 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is absolutely right. It is wrong for such people to be treated in that way and to feel...
Andrew Love | 459 c1606-8 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Government on making time for the debate. The fact is that Parliament has been ra...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1606 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman is speaking, given that he chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee...
Mike Gapes | 459 c1605 (Link to this contribution) I agree. We also need to support all the international institutions, the UN processes that have been...
Baroness Kramer | 459 c1600 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the deep frustrations in the Tamil community, rightly or wrong...
Ed Davey | 459 c1601-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes the point clearly. To be fair to the Government, and although I heard only the ...
Jeremy Corbyn | 459 c1602 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that merely the act of seeking asylum on the part of many people from ...
Ed Davey | 459 c1602-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. This is a cleft stick for the Government. False claims are f...
Neil Gerrard | 459 c1598-9 (Link to this contribution) That message is right. If we look back at the history of Northern Ireland over the years, we could f...
Ed Davey | 459 c1600 (Link to this contribution) I agree with almost every word that the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) said. It is absolu...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1603 (Link to this contribution) Just so that my hon. Friend is clear, I am sure he remembers that that was a point that we made at t...
Ed Davey | 459 c1603-4 (Link to this contribution) I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Sri Lanka has the potential to be one of the powerhouses of As...
Mike Gapes | 459 c1604 (Link to this contribution) First, I should like to apologise for not being here for the opening speeches. This debate started e...
Jeremy Corbyn | 459 c1604 (Link to this contribution) I am not asking my hon. Friend to reveal anything in the report due out on Friday, but does he agree...
Joan Ruddock | 459 c1595 (Link to this contribution) Of course I would be supportive of that process. There will always be a range of views on how such i...
Speaker | 459 c1595 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before I call the next hon. Member, may I tell the House that Back-Bench speeches have been a...
Joan Ruddock | 459 c1595 (Link to this contribution) I was about to conclude my speech, but I shall willingly give way.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1595 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Lady knows, the presidential commission is investigating several of the allegations that...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1597 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend share the frustration of many of my constituents that there seems to be a belief...
Neil Gerrard | 459 c1597-8 (Link to this contribution) That is an important point, which I had intended to deal with. Let me develop it now, as it has been...
Justine Greening | 459 c1596-7 (Link to this contribution) I will certainly take note of your comments, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Like many Members who have spoken,...
Neil Gerrard | 459 c1597 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely pleased that we have had this debate this afternoon, as it is a long, long time since...
Ed Davey | 459 c1598 (Link to this contribution) On that important point, speakers have mentioned the analogy with Northern Ireland. In Northern Irel...
Shailesh Vara | 459 c1587-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a great privilege and pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz)...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1589 (Link to this contribution) One of the reasons the Norwegians are still in such good standing is that Norway is not part of the ...
Shailesh Vara | 459 c1589-90 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that contribution. It could be said that we have both angles covered, as the Norwe...
Andrew Love | 459 c1590 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman might well be aware of recent opinion polls in Sri Lanka suggesting that there is...
Shailesh Vara | 459 c1590 (Link to this contribution) For that reason—as well as for the reasons of India’s proximity and of Tamil Nadu—it is important th...
Baroness Kramer | 459 c1591 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that as the Under-Secretary of State for International Development wil...
Shailesh Vara | 459 c1591 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Lady for that contribution and she makes a valid point. I hope that the Minister wi...
Stephen Pound | 459 c1593 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend speaks with the great authority of a constituency representative of many members of t...
Joan Ruddock | 459 c1593-5 (Link to this contribution) I take the points that my hon. Friend has raised very seriously, because this is a real debate. I ju...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1614 (Link to this contribution) I asked the hon. Gentleman several questions during my speech, notably whether the UK Government are...
Gareth Thomas | 459 c1614 (Link to this contribution) I will come on to the question of the UN and the discussions that we have been having through it. We...
Gareth Thomas | 459 c1613 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend will forgive me if at this stage I do not speculate on an unknown outc...
Lord Watts | 459 c1616 (Link to this contribution) I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Motion, by leave, withdrawn.
Gareth Thomas | 459 c1614-6 (Link to this contribution) I will indeed. However, first let me highlight the fact that the Foreign Minister and two other demo...
Andrew Love | 459 c1608 (Link to this contribution) I apologise, but I shall not take interventions as I only have two minutes. In recent months countr...
Gareth Thomas | 459 c1609-11 (Link to this contribution) This has been a serious and considered debate that has reflected the Government’s profound concern a...
David Burrowes | 459 c1608 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Andrew Love | 459 c1613 (Link to this contribution) There are constant rumours that if consensus is reached but negotiations do not take place the Sri L...
Simon Hughes | 459 c1611 (Link to this contribution) Have the Sri Lankan Government given any indication that they understand what the Labour Government,...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 459 c1564-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister of State and the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 459 c1562-3 (Link to this contribution) I have made it clear that I want to see an inclusive political dialogue, and there can be a dialogue...
Mike Gapes | 459 c1579-80 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is aware, though, that there are 60 million Tamil people living in south India, a...
Gareth Thomas | 459 c1611-3 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, in a little while I shall come on to deal with matters such...
Joan Ruddock | 459 c1591-3 (Link to this contribution) I bring to this debate no expertise, and I have not been fortunate enough to have a holiday in Sri L...
John McDonnell | 459 c1555 (Link to this contribution) We are all apologising for lateness, but I was not as late as the others. As we learned from Northe...
Ed Davey | 459 c1613 (Link to this contribution) I join the tribute that the Minister has paid to United Nations agencies that are working on the isl...
Keith Vaz | 459 c1586 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to hear that. When I met my hon. Friend, he said that my right hon. Friend the Member...
Mike Gapes | 459 c1606 (Link to this contribution) Our human rights report did not refer to every country in the world. We tried to highlight a few ins...
Subjects
Armed conflict
Human rights
Politics and government
Terrorism
Violence
Sri Lanka
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Ceasefires
Link
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