Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Stephen Smith, MP

Sri Lanka

17 March 2010

I wish to update the House on the situation in Sri Lanka since my last report to the House on 14
September 2009.

In particular, I want to update the House on the ongoing political and humanitarian challenges
facing Sri Lanka and Australia’s strengthened financial and diplomatic support for the people of Sri
Lanka to help Sri Lanka meet these challenges.

I highlight some recent progress on resettling internally displaced civilians, an immense task.

I underscore Australia’s long-standing bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka, underpinned by

substantial people-to-people links. Our bilateral cooperation continues to expand in important
areas, including combating people smuggling and human trafficking. Addressing transnational
issues such as these is important, not only to Sri Lanka and Australia but to our region.

I do so at a time when President Mahinda Rajapaksa has recently been re-elected, following Sri
Lanka’s first nation-wide election after over two decades of conflict. And at a time when Sri Lanka
prepares for parliamentary elections on 8 April.
Political challenges

Mr Speaker, as I said in my statement to the Parliament in September last year, the military victory
in Sri Lanka has changed the situation on the ground irrevocably.

During my visit to Sri Lanka in November last year, I urged the Sri Lankan Government to win the
peace, after decades-long military conflict, by forging an enduring political settlement for all Sri
Lankans.

I acknowledged that this would not be easy. Nor would it occur overnight. It would come only
after a process of political reform and rapprochement between all parties and communities.

While the outside world could help in practical ways, the solution needed to come from within Sri
Lanka, from the people of Sri Lanka.

The re-elected Sri Lankan Government has both a special responsibility and opportunity to use its
second term to promote the political freedoms and the reforms, including the empowerment of
minority communities, that will enable all citizens to have a stake in the country’s future.

Australia believes that Sri Lanka’s democracy, its rule of law and its national security would be
enhanced by a stronger civil society and an independent and free media.

Such freedoms could enhance Sri Lanka’s prospects for lasting reconciliation.

Another crucial part of the reconciliation and peace building process is the proper conduct of
elections. In this regard, it was notable that polling for the Presidential election proceeded
reasonably peacefully in most areas.

There were, however, reports of violence and possible violations of election law in the lead up to
and following the Presidential election.

As we approach the 8 April elections, Australia urges the Government of Sri Lanka and its civil
institutions to ensure that there are credible investigations into past election incidents and measures
are put in place to prevent similar problems arising again.

Mr Speaker, as Members would be aware, the former Army Chief and Presidential candidate
General Sarath Fonseka was taken into detention on 8 February and faces charges of undertaking
political activities while still in the military and violating military procurement guidelines.

General Fonseka was brought before a military court at Navy Headquarters on 16 March and is due
to appear again today. General Fonseka is challenging the legality of his detention through Sri
Lanka’s Supreme Court.

The international community, including Australia, has been and is watching these developments
closely.

Australia has underlined the importance of General Fonseka and his supporters being treated fairly
and transparently in accordance with Sri Lankan law.

Mr Speaker, decades of civil war have impacted terribly and adversely on Sri Lankan civilians.

Australia made repeated calls during the conflict, and since, for all parties to make the welfare and
protection of civilians the absolute priority, and for international law to be respected.

Australia has called on the Sri Lankan Government to investigate allegations of human rights
violations and violations of international law.
Proper and transparent investigation of these allegations is an important step towards reconciliation.

We welcomed the announcement by the Sri Lankan Government on 26 October 2009 that it would
establish an Expert Committee to investigate allegations contained in the recent US State
Department’s Report to Congress on Incidents during the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka.

The deadline for the Committee’s report was extended from 31 December 2009.

It is important that the Expert Committee moves more quickly to progress its investigations and
implement its findings. We look forward to the Committee’s report, due by 30 April 2010.

I welcome President Rajapaksa’s re-election statement on 27 January in which he committed to

govern for all Sri Lankans, build on the peace already achieved and move forward on a
reconciliation program.

Others have indicated a willingness to explore options for reconciliation and long term stability.

The Tamil National Alliance said in its platform for parliamentary elections to be held on 8 April
that it would accept a “federal structure” in the north-east. Obviously this is a sensitive political
issue for Sri Lankans to resolve.

I encourage all political voices to engage together in a sincere process to achieve lasting political
reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

Humanitarian challenges

Mr Speaker, following my visit to Sri Lanka over 9-10 November last year, which was the first by
an Australian Foreign Minister since 2004, it was very clear that the humanitarian task facing
Sri Lanka was immense.

Australia has been a close observer of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka both during the recent
intensified fighting and since the end of the military conflict in May 2009.

Throughout, we have stressed the need to make the welfare of civilians an absolute priority.

Australia held concerns about the camps for internally displaced people and we put these concerns
directly to the Sri Lankan Government at the time, calling for freedom of movement for displaced
persons and management of the camps in accordance with international humanitarian standards.

My discussions with the Sri Lankan Government in November 2009, including with President
Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama, revealed that progress had been made in
tackling the challenging task of resettling hundreds of thousands of displaced citizens and
rehabilitating their communities.

However, for several reasons – including the scale of the resettlement task – the Sri Lankan
Government was not able to meet its self imposed deadline of 31 January for completing the return
of all internally displaced people to their place of origin.

This process is continuing. Of the nearly 300,000 civilians displaced by the conflict, over 185,000
have been released and are living either in their own homes or – in greater numbers - with host
families.

Living conditions in the 12 remaining camps, which now house over 90,000 internally displaced
people, continue to be difficult but reduced numbers have relieved the problem of over-crowding.

Efforts are being made to meet the basic needs of people still in these camps and essential services
are being provided.
During my November visit to Colombo, I discussed with the Sri Lankan Government the
importance of freedom of movement for all internally displaced civilians.

Accordingly, Australia welcomed the Sri Lankan Government’s announcement of 1 December

2009 which allowed freer movement for people in the camps.

Tens of thousands of people have taken advantage of that decision to travel outside the camps.

Many of these civilians and those recently resettled have suffered immensely through decades of
conflict which has resulted in significant trauma for many Sri Lankans.

In addition to the situation in the camps and resettlement areas, we remain watchful of the
conditions for over 10,000 individuals who have been separated from the civilian population and
held in detention as ex-combatants.

We urge the Sri Lankan government to regularise the legal status of this group and afford
international agencies access to those held in detention.

Enhanced diplomatic efforts

Mr Speaker, Australia has adopted an enhanced diplomatic and humanitarian effort to help Sri
Lanka address the challenges of recovery from over two decades of civil war.

On 2 November 2009, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Mr John McCarthy as
Australia’s Special Representative to Sri Lanka.

Mr McCarthy’s role has reinforced the messages that I and our High Commissioner in Colombo
have put to the Sri Lankan Government on the importance of – and Australia’s support for -
stabilisation and resettlement of internally displaced civilians within Sri Lanka.

Special Representative McCarthy has also engaged with the international community widely on the
challenges faced by Sri Lanka.

He has been consulting extensively on the importance of supporting reconstruction and

rehabilitation programs in the north of the country. These programs are important both for
humanitarian reasons and for laying the foundations for lasting peace.

Mr McCarthy visited Colombo with me in November and has just completed a further visit to Sri
Lanka this month, where he met President Rajapaksa.

During this February visit, Mr McCarthy was also able to travel north with our High Commissioner
to the Jaffna Peninsula where they visited camps for internally displaced civilians and resettlement
areas, and met local government and community leaders.

In a number of discussions overseas, both in the corridors of international meetings and bilateral
visits, including in London in January and in New Delhi in March, I underlined the importance of
international support to assist Sri Lanka meet its challenges.

Humanitarian assistance

Mr Speaker, Australia continues to respond generously to the humanitarian challenges facing

Sri Lanka.

Our aid program is targeted to meet the needs of displaced civilians, their resettlement and the
rehabilitation of their communities.
Our aid efforts in the camps are focussed on the well-being of internally displaced people, and not
on the camps being a long-term settlement option.

The proper, transparent and compassionate treatment of those citizens of the north and east will be
important for post-conflict reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

It is for this reason that Australia continues to advocate resettlement of all remaining displaced
persons in safe and dignified conditions as soon as possible.

Australian officials in Sri Lanka are working closely with central and local government authorities
and community groups to determine how best Australia can continue to address the needs of the
displaced, and support their resettlement and rehabilitation.

A senior AusAID official visited resettlement areas in Northern Sri Lanka in late February for this
purpose.

In many cases resettlement areas have been badly affected by conflict.

There are impassable roads, destroyed houses and a lack of potable water. Infrastructure, including
schools and health facilities, is damaged or non-existent. Large swathes of agricultural land are as
yet unusable and tools to restart livelihoods are scarce.

In addition, there is the ever-present danger of landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Mr Speaker, demining is an essential first step to allow people to return home and rebuild their
lives.

For this reason, Australia has already announced its commitment to provide up to $20 million for
demining over the next five years to ensure that the northern part of Sri Lanka can be made safe for
resettlement.

Aid announcement

In November 2009 following my visit to Sri Lanka I informed the House that Australia was looking
favourably to assisting both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank on their
reconstruction projects in the north and in the east.

In Singapore in the margins of APEC I had a conversation with Mr Zoellick, the Executive Director
of the World Bank, indicating Australia's in-principle support for those reconstruction efforts so far
as the World Bank is concerned.

Today I announce that Australia will provide an additional $20 million in targeted assistance to Sri
Lanka.

This support will be delivered through international organisations who are making a practical
contribution to stabilisation efforts.

It is focussed on enabling people to return to their home communities and to re-establish the
economic and social infrastructure required for recovery.

$12 million will be provided to the World Bank to co-finance their Emergency Northern
Reconstruction Project.

Over an 18 month period, the World Bank project plans to help over 100,000 displaced people by
providing cash grants, raising standards of living and rebuilding essential community infrastructure.
Australian funding will go directly to resettling families, allowing them to regain some control over
their own lives and to start repairing their houses and clearing their fields and wells.

Our assistance will also provide seeds and essential farming and fishing implements to improve
food security.

$8 million will be provided to co-finance the Asian Development Bank's North East Community
Restoration and Development Project.

This project aims to rapidly improve living conditions by restoring basic social infrastructure
including critical health facilities and schools.

It will restore village roads, provide irrigation and water supply schemes and restore electricity
supplies.

It will give priority to districts affected by conflict including parts of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and
Kilinochchi.

The assistance I am announcing today builds on Australia's existing support for housing to enable
internally displaced people to be resettled more quickly.

Large scale damage to basic housing infrastructure in the north remains a critical challenge, with the
total number of houses damaged or destroyed reported to exceed 230,000.

This follows on from the $3 million Australia provided in November 2009 to UN Habitat to provide
cash grants to affected families for quick repairs and longer term reconstruction of housing, as well
as restoring land titles.

Bilateral Relationship

Mr Speaker, Sri Lanka is important to Australia. Australia and Sri Lanka share strong bilateral
relations, built on our shared Commonwealth membership, as well as links in trade and investment,
defence, education, sport, culture and development cooperation.

The people-to-people links between Australia and Sri Lanka are strong with around 100,000
persons of Sri Lankan extraction now living in Australia, contributing to all aspects of our society.

The opportunity now exists for the diaspora to play a constructive role in promoting the conditions
for sustainable peace. I urge the diaspora to look forward and work in positive ways to help
communities inside Sri Lanka realise a peaceful future for themselves.

Australia is committed to working with Sri Lanka to help address the serious challenges facing
today’s world, including counter-terrorism and people smuggling, climate change and organised
transnational crime.

Such issues require global solutions and Australia is firmly committed to supporting and enhancing
the vital role of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, in meeting these challenges.

People smuggling is an issue that affects our entire region, not just Australia.

We are working more closely than ever before with international organisations, in particular the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and with regional partners to
combat this issue, through such groupings as the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in
Persons and Related Transnational Crime.

People smuggling remains a high-priority transnational issue for source, transit and destination
countries in our region.
People smugglers and people smuggling syndicates work without regard for human safety or
national legal frameworks.

Australia is working together with Sri Lanka to address people smuggling.

In a Joint Ministerial Statement I issued with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 9 November 2009,
Australia and Sri Lanka reaffirmed our continuing commitment to work together to combat people
smuggling and related organised criminal activities, including:

. enhancing cooperation to bring to justice the criminal organisers of the people smuggling
trade;

. taking a leading role to promote regional cooperation to act against transnational people
smuggling networks, and

. undertaking a public information campaign to alert Sri Lankan citizens to the dangers of
maritime people smuggling.

We acknowledged our ongoing constructive bilateral cooperation between key domestic operational
agencies and underlined our commitment to work together in practical ways to address people
smuggling issues in a cooperative and comprehensive manner.

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, Sri Lanka is emerging from a long period of conflict and insecurity towards greater
stability. With new presidential and parliamentary terms soon to begin, now more than ever is the
time to forge a new beginning for all its citizens and take forward national reconciliation and lasting
peace.

As a long-time friend, Australia has been, and will continue to be, committed to working with Sri
Lanka to build a peaceful and prosperous future for all Sri Lankans.