The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, we all know that in the Middle East there is an escalating, severe warlike situation. Therefore, this is not a time for a country — whether in Parliament or outside in the media — to make jokes, to score political points against the Government, to make statements merely to say “we said something,” or to provoke a section of the public with inflammatory remarks, or to say various things based on false, half-true, or incorrect information.

¶ 02 I believe every political party leader, every MP, every people’s representative must make very responsible statements in such a global situation that is in fact beyond, and outside, our direct control.

¶ 03 Hon. Speaker, as you know, from our baseline we have a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. That is our area where our laws apply and we can take decisions. From 12 to 200 nautical miles is our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). International conventions and laws apply in that zone. Our powers there relate to economic activities, not military activities. Under freedom of navigation, any country can navigate and conduct activities through the EEZ.

¶ 04 This incident occurred 19 nautical miles from Galle Port. At 5.08 a.m. yesterday, the Navy’s Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) first received a message. It was not about whether an attack had occurred; the first message was that some dead bodies were floating in that sea area. Within an hour, the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force launched search and rescue operations. At that time, the duty of the Navy, Air Force, and the defense establishment was not to determine whether it was an attack, how it occurred, whether it was a torpedo attack, etc. It could have been an accident or an attack — anything. On humanitarian grounds, the task was to intervene and save lives. Accordingly, the Ministry of Defence, the Navy, and the Air Force conducted operations. We were able to bring 32 injured ashore to the Galle National Hospital; one is in the ICU. We have also recovered 87 bodies so far. The freezer capacity at Galle and nearby hospitals is insufficient. The Government does not have its own freezer containers, so we are procuring from the private sector. Within a few hours, one freezer container from Colombo will reach Galle; in fact, we think two are needed. The Defence Ministry, Health Ministry, and all relevant authorities are involved.

¶ 05 At our media briefing yesterday, there were differing views on whether it was an attack or an accident. The United States Government issued an official statement only yesterday evening. We act based on the information we receive. As Hon. Minister Wijitha Herath set out in Parliament, what we are doing as a Government is working for international peace, especially for peace in the Indian Ocean — which is our expectation. We are intervening as possible. There are more incidents occurring right now in the Indian Ocean than those you have mentioned. We are intervening in accordance with international law and on humanitarian grounds. That is what we can do: protect lives, conduct the necessary operations, and safeguard regional peace. We are continuing our efforts. We will inform Parliament with further details. Please keep in mind, as a Government we are acting very responsibly, not to settle political scores. We are acting in line with international conventions, minimizing loss of life, and safeguarding peace in the Indian Ocean.