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| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers |
Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers stated Sri Lanka's new government should co-operate with a United Nations inquiry into mass atrocities and called for the rights of Tamils on the island to be protected.
In a statement released on Monday, Ms Villiers said “the UK Government has consistently called for a full and independent inquiry into war crimes and human rights abuses during the civil war in Sri Lanka.”
“Now it is important for the new government in Sri Lanka to cooperate with the work on the UN on these crucial issues, and for all sides to work together for a negotiated inclusive settlement which provides for political equality and protects the rights of Tamils and all parts of the community in Sri Lanka.”
Ms Villiers' statement also congratulated the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils and the British Tamil Forum for their “highly successful” dinner last week, saying the “fact that so many parliamentarians were here shows how influential the British Tamil community is in UK politics.”
"I am sure that all the elected representatives who [were present] are determined to see justice for the Tamil people,” she added in her statement.
Speaking to Tamil Guardian during the event Ms Villiers had reiterated the importance of accountability for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka. “We need to see justice and accountability for what happened at the end of the war, and we need to see political progress to reach a settlement in Sri Lanka which sees equality for all parts of the community, including the Tamil community,” she said.
Commenting on Sri Lanka's newly formed government, Ms Villiers added, “It doesn’t change the fundamentals, the same questions need answering and the goals are the same as before the new government was elected.”
See more comments from Ms Villiers and other parliamentarians in our feature:
British politicians call on Sri Lanka to cooperate with UN and de-militarise North-East (01 Feb 2015)
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