The Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity. There is much discussion today on the tense situation between Iran and the United States and the actions Sri Lanka took regarding two ships outside our Exclusive Economic Zone. The most important thing is that the Opposition never seems to understand on what basis and within what legal framework the Government acts.

¶ 02 This morning the Leader of the Opposition highlighted, “One ship was taken; 84 died on the other.” First, let us understand Sri Lanka’s foreign policy: we are a Non-Aligned State. In the current conflict between the U.S. and Iran, Sri Lanka is not a party to the war. That is neutrality. We do not allow our country to be used for war. The Hon. President made it clear: we will not allow our territory to be used for military purposes. Therefore, we must be cautious about admitting any warship or vessel capable of warlike use into our territorial or maritime domain, lest some country say we have breached neutrality. The Opposition speaks without grasping this concept at all; we cannot breach neutrality.

¶ 03 The President also stated yesterday that in February, three ships sought permission to enter Sri Lanka. The Opposition’s argument is that if we had granted permission, the subsequent attack would not have occurred and those 84 would not have died. They do not understand why we refused entry, why we took charge of a vessel, and why we brought the mariners into Sri Lanka. As a neutral country, in a war situation, we do not admit to our country any vessel of a party to the war for war purposes. That is neutrality. Yet they ask why on 4 March we brought 32 persons, and by last night another 208 persons, into Sri Lanka, and why we took charge of the Iranian vessel and berthed it at Trincomalee.

¶ 04 On 4 March morning, in the Indian Ocean – not within Sri Lankan waters – a U.S. submarine attacked that Iranian vessel. The crew sent a distress call to Sri Lanka. Under the Hague Convention and international law, any neutral State – and even the attacking State – is obliged to rescue mariners in distress. Our Navy fulfilled that legal and humanitarian duty and brought those distressed sailors to Sri Lanka, responding to the distress call. That is why we took the 32 from “IRIS Dena” and the 208 from “IRIS Bushehr,” took the ship into our charge, and are holding them safely.

¶ 05 Thus, to protect the lives of those Iranian mariners – the 32 and the 208 – Sri Lanka’s non-aligned foreign policy, our neutrality, helped them. Because we are neutral, they could come here and be secured. Understand that.

¶ 06 Consider also how the Opposition has behaved. A speech made here by Hon. Mujibur Rahuman went viral in India today, viewed by over a million, claiming we did not rescue when we could have. Even after such a brave act by our Navy, despite the risks taken and the excellent display of foreign policy and humanity, the Opposition is trying to leave a black mark on us with falsehoods: saying 300 children were onboard; saying we delayed 11 hours. Who said these things? Opposition MPs. Why did we take charge, on what basis, when and how – these are humanitarian decisions, based on international law and our foreign policy. We intervened so that people do not die while we watch in the Indian Ocean where our people live and we share waters with other States. The Hon. President, the Navy, and the Government handled this with great competence.