Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, we support the Resolution relating to the Agreement between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments. This is the 29th such agreement we have entered into. We had signed 28 before. We hope that this would help improve investments by the United Arab Emirates in Sri Lanka.

¶ 02 But, Sir, there is a much more urgent matter brewing in the Middle East and even the United Arab Emirates has already pointed out that if Israel continues to go ahead with their plan to occupy the land of the Palestinians, they would cross the red-line and would damage the spirit of the Abraham Accords, which normalized the relationship between the two countries.

¶ 03 Sir, the world watches in horror as a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale unfolds in the Gaza Strip. It is a profound human tragedy that tests the moral fibre of every nation and demands that Sri Lanka not only affirm its principles, but also act upon them. Our nation has a proud history of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, a relationship rooted in our non-aligned Foreign Policy and shared experiences. The current Government’s cautious posture represents a retreat from that principled legacy and our task is to urge them to return to decisive action.

¶ 04 Sir, the demographics of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the three key Occupied Territories that were on the Middle East map before 7 October 2023, have been rapidly altered for nearly two years now. It is brutally evident that new facts are being created on the ground through a deadly combination of political, military, and ideology-based strategies which have snuffed out the innocent lives of more than 60,000 people and displaced over 2 million, half of them children. The aggressors have now begun to target Palestinian people in other areas of the Occupied Territory as well. No decent, democratic, conscientious nation or people could be reticent or worse, collusive over these violent catastrophes that the world witnesses with shattered hearts day in and day out.

¶ 05 The fundamental premise that should have underpinned a reasonably negotiated political settlement to the Palestinian question since 1948—the Nakba, meaning the forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinians—has now been turned on its head. The right of the refugees of the Nakba era and their descendants to return to Palestine has effectively been throttled. Under international law, it is a right that should be fostered and facilitated. Rather, the reality today is far more ominous with more and more Palestinians at risk of expulsion or evacuation from their territories.

¶ 06 Contrary to the principles of international humanitarian law, food, medicines and other essentials meant for a hungry, desperate and often bleeding population are not just being denied, but are actively being blocked. We are now witnessing the expeditious undoing of all the principles and norms which would have made the long-yearned-for two-State solution an ultimate reality. Historical revisionism continues to persist defiantly in its political, military and socio-economic aspects, aided by active political and economic support, encouragement and even military assistance from a handful of powerful nations.

¶ 07 Sri Lanka recognized the State of Palestine as far back as 1989. Consequently, the Palestinian diplomatic representation in Colombo had been recognized as the Embassy of the State of Palestine in terms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It is our national responsibility to assert that recognition on every platform, regional and international as well as bilateral and multilateral. Not doing it as assiduously as such State recognition entails or behaving in a manner that chips away at the core of that recognition means that the Government does not care whether that State so recognized exists or goes off the face of the earth.

¶ 08 It is not just a treachery committed against the Palestinian people, but also an imprimatur of approval for the ongoing anti-Palestine abolitionist project, which, if successful, would undoubtedly have wider ramifications on regional security and stability, including on Sri Lanka. We, as Representatives of the people, should ensure that the Palestinian people are not denied their due place and all attempts to reduce them to subhumans are frustrated.

¶ 09 Sir, the United Nations is marking its 80th Anniversary this year. The General Assembly, which begins its 80th Session today, would be a platform for countries to celebrate the legacy of the UN and to lament its manifold limitations as well. Nothing in recent times has exposed the depths of the UN Security Council’s inefficacy and unresponsiveness as much as the Gaza situation has done. It is important that the special gathering of world leaders should reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, which means more than mere expression of a two-State solution, but also the actual realization of a State for Palestinians in peaceful co-existence with its neighbours.

¶ 10 Sir, it is high time that the Government of Sri Lanka call a spade a spade and directly and unequivocally call for the end of occupation and the catastrophic military onslaughts and illegal settlement activities in Palestine. However, at no point can the terrorist actions of Hamas be condoned. They must not be allowed to use the innocent people of Gaza to achieve their own objectives. As we all know, it is the killing of some 1,200 Israelis and the taking of another 250 hostage on 7 October 2023 by Hamas which set off this massive Israeli offensive. The sad truth is that it is the innocent on both sides who have paid and are paying with their lives for terrorism on both sides.

¶ 11 Therefore, Sir, it is a moment for Sri Lanka to rise to our moral responsibility, to honour our legacy and to join the growing chorus of nations which choose justice over expediency.

¶ 12 Thank you very much.