Question by Sahra Wagenknecht, 1 March 2007

On 9 January 2007, members of Sri Lanka's United People's Movement (UPM) were attacked and chased by an armed mob before a public rally. According to reports in the media, a deputy minister, Mervyn Silva, was involved in the attacks.

What view does the Council take of direct attacks on peace activists in Sri Lanka by members of the Sri Lankan Government? How will this incident affect the Council's support for the Government in future?

Excerpt from Protocol of Debate in the European Parliament on 26 April 2007

Günter Gloser, President-in-Office of the Council. (DE) The Council has no evidence that the Sri Lankan Government was connected with this incident. No conclusions can therefore be drawn regarding the incident's consequences for relations between the EU and the Sri Lankan Government.

Looking at the situation more generally, however, the Council is deeply concerned about developments in Sri Lanka. The European Union is urging both sides to end the violence immediately and to return to the negotiating table without delay so that a workable solution to the conflict can be found based on constructive proposals. Despite the obvious difficulties, as one of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference of donor countries the European Union is continuing to examine every possible way of supporting the peace process in Sri Lanka.

Sahra Wagenknecht (GUE/NGL). – (DE) You have just said that the Council is deeply concerned, but in that case my question is quite specific: what does the Council intend to do to bring pressure to bear on Sri Lanka to end the military offensive against the Tamil Eelam freedom fighters – which has already claimed many civilian casualties – and force them to return to the negotiating table?

My second question is: is the Council aware that arms from EU Member States are also being used in this conflict?

Günter Gloser, President-in-Office of the Council. (DE) On the last point, I know nothing about this, but we will look into it and see whether there is any information available.

On the question of the measures the Council is thinking of taking, I can tell you that the Council is supporting the work of the Monitoring Mission in Sri Lanka and the Norwegian mediator. We have repeatedly called on the warring parties to observe the 2002 armistice agreement and to respect human rights.

The European Union has also submitted its own draft resolution on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the Geneva Human Rights Council. This draft expresses the EU's concern at the recent escalation of violence in Sri Lanka and calls for an immediate end to the violence and the violations of human rights and basic humanitarian rights it entails.

I hope that will lead to a next step. We will look again at the question you raise and let you have information on the subject.

Tobias Pflüger (GUE/NGL). – (DE) When the present escalation of the conflict in Sri Lanka began, this House debated whether the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should be placed on the EU terror list. What is your present view of the LTTE having been placed on the terror list now that the conflict has escalated enormously? Was it in retrospect the right thing to do? In particular, was it right at that point in time?

A second question: Norway is playing a very positive role in this conflict, especially in negotiations, and Norway has criticised the EU through diplomatic channels, saying that the EU's role has been rather biased towards the government. What do you say to that?

Günter Gloser, President-in-Office of the Council. (DE) I cannot agree with the last statement. As I said before, in view of the conflicts and the problems they also bring for the civilian population, it is necessary for both parties to be involved in resolving the conflict. For that reason, the European Union has not placed greater confidence in any of the parties, not even the government. The EU's measures, and those of other organisations active there, must be geared to a permanent end to the conflict.

I cannot comment personally on the first question, but I will have it examined again.