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Labour Party pledges support if Cameron government acts on accountability for Sri Lanka war crimes

Labour leader Ed Miliband said in the House of Commons today that Britain cannot let the human rights situation in Sri Lanka rest, and that his party would support any government moves to take action towards a war crimes inquiry.

"The Prime Minister of Canada and the Prime Minister of India decided not to attend this summit. In explaining his decision, Prime Minister Harper said this: 'In the past two years, we've seen a considerable worsening of the situation.


"Accepting the good intentions of the Prime Minister (Cameron), weren't Prime Minister Harper and Singh right to believe that the attendance of heads of government at Chogm would not achieve any improvement in human right in Sri Lanka? Indeed the summit communique, failed even to reference human rights in Sri Lanka.

"The UN Human Rights Commissioner called two years ago for an internationally-led inquiry, and we have supported that call. Isn’t the right thing [for Britain] to do now to build international support for that internationally-led process?"

"We believe we cannot let the matter rest. Britain must do what it can to ensure the truth emerges. When the government acts to make that happen, we will support them."

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