The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am happy to speak on the Votes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism. Since 2001, at every Budget, I have intervened under this Ministry because, particularly since the ethnic conflict escalated, consecutive governments used this Ministry in a counterinsurgency role: a Ministry of lies, denying major offences under International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. It spearheaded portraying Tamil demands as mere terrorism.

¶ 02 Has the current Government changed this approach? A test: I table the statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, delivered via videolink to the Human Rights Council on 30 September 2015. He welcomed commitments to investigate violations, but said Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system is not equipped to conduct independent, credible investigations into allegations of such breadth and magnitude or to hold those responsible to account. He said, first, Sri Lanka lacks reliable victim and witness protection; second, the domestic legal framework is inadequate to deal with international crimes of this magnitude; and third, the security sector and justice system have been distorted and corrupted by decades of impunity; key institutions remain compromised; and the forces have enjoyed near total impunity without significant reform since the armed conflict.

¶ 03 Hence, he recommended an ad hoc hybrid special court with international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, with its own investigative/prosecuting organ, defence office and witness/victim protection—essential in a polarized environment to give victims confidence. Judicial accountability should be accompanied by broader transitional justice measures including truth-seeking and reparations.

¶ 04 After this statement, the 2015 Government co-sponsored a Resolution. But once Ranil Wickremesinghe became President, he reversed it and got his Foreign Minister, Hon. Ali Sabry, to oppose it. On 27 July 2023, Ali Sabry told foreign correspondents that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would “stave off” international intervention and have no prosecuting powers. On 4 September 2024, he assured this House the TRC would not have prosecutorial powers.

¶ 05 The previous Rajapaksa Government, with suspected war criminals, was not going to prosecute itself. But Ranil Wickremesinghe, who co-sponsored the Resolution as PM, went back on it. The current President repeatedly pledged that no one would be brought before court—before and after he became President and during the parliamentary campaign. In that context, the Hon. Minister again opposed the Resolution at Geneva and seeks a domestic mechanism. He has never assured a criminal prosecutorial process. If there is to be prosecution, it cannot be domestic; at least it must be an ad hoc hybrid with international control over investigations to be credible to victims. This Government has not departed from past practices. There are serious doubts, especially given the JVP’s historic support for a total military solution under Mahinda Rajapaksa, with the then leaders taking credit for mobilizing the public in favour of total war, despite grave offences.

¶ 06 Why fear an international mechanism if no offences were committed? Given polarization, a purely domestic process will not be credible. Reconciliation is not precluded by prosecutions; without criminal justice, everything else is a cover-up.

¶ 07 I also raise a recent issue: after the NPP won, the Chinese Ambassador visited Jaffna and made comments welcoming support for the NPP—unbecoming for an ambassador. The NPP only got 24% in Jaffna. The Minister should question that Ambassador. Further, from 19 to 23 February 2025, China’s Minister for National Ethnic Affairs Commission (NEAC), Mr. Pan Yue, visited Sri Lanka, met the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, and reportedly proposed a Sri Lanka–China cultural centre in Jaffna. The NEAC handles minorities in China and faces serious allegations: suppression of cultural and religious practices, genocide allegations regarding Uyghurs, mass surveillance, assimilation policies. The visit was secret; he did not meet minorities here, only our religious/cultural authorities including the Department of Archaeology, which we accuse of cultural genocide in the North and East. If an Indian or American minister visited Jaffna, there would be an outcry. The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs must come clean regarding these engagements.

¶ 08 Thank you.