Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the the government of Sri Lanka’s decision to proscribe a number of Tamil groups and individuals for alleged links to terrorist activities and (b) the effect this will have on the reconciliation process.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am concerned at reports that the Sri Lankan government has proscribed a number of individuals and Tamil organisations operating outside Sri Lanka. Whilst we respect the right of the Sri Lankan government to take appropriate action against individuals and groups where there is clear evidence of their involvement in terrorist activities, our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has made clear to the Sri Lankan government that proscription should not be used to prevent or stifle the right to freedom of speech, particularly at a time when Sri Lanka’s human rights record is under international scrutiny. We believe that this development is not conducive to a successful reconciliation process and will continue to monitor developments closely.