NO Political Package?

Karu

DR ARUJUNA SIVANANTHAN

This the outcome of ongoing and relentless lobbying by the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, Hon Paul Scully, Conservative MP for Sutton, Vice Chairs Rt Hon Theresa Villiers PC and Conservative MP for Barnet, Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chairman of the Education Select Committee, Hon Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, Hon Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, Hon Zac Goldsmith, Conservative MP for Richmond, and other Friends in the Party.
It is also a result of the significant interest that successive Conservative Prime Ministers and Ministers at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office have taken in the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/family-resettlement-and-peacebuilding-in-sri-lanka-boosted-by-1-million

Family resettlement and peacebuilding in Sri Lanka boosted by £1 million

UK funding will help nearly 600 families in the Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaithivu and Batticaloa districts of Sri Lanka.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office
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Nearly 600 families resettled on newly released land in the North and East of Sri Lanka will benefit from £1 million from the UK Government to support the provision of basic infrastructure and services.

Helping families return to their villages is a crucial element of Sri Lanka addressing the legacy of civil war and is a key part of the joint strategy agreed by the UN and the government of Sri Lanka to support long-term post-conflict peacebuilding in Sri Lanka.

The funding will help those returning to their homes in the Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaithivu and Batticaloa districts by contributing towards roads, wells and sanitary services, and help re-establish access to local government services as well as local civil society organisations.

It will also help families rebuild their lives by supporting livelihood development through training on small business management, and provision of essential fishing and agricultural equipment.

Minister of State for Asia & the Pacific Mark Field said:

Helping some of the families resettle in districts from which they had been displaced is a very important step. It is symbolic of the steady progress made after decades of conflict. There remains a lot to do, but I am proud of the UK’s support to the rebuilding process.

We will continue to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to make progress delivering their Human Rights Council commitments, and I hope that the UK’s Sri Lankan diaspora will also play their part in encouraging that progress.

The UK currently supports stability in Sri Lanka through projects designed to build reconciliation and the rule of law; including, police and defence reform, demining, inter-faith mediation and anti-bribery and corruption, among other issues.

The funding is being provided through the UK’s Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), increasing the UK’s contribution through the CSSF for Sri Lanka to £7.9 million between 2016 and 2019.

The funding is part of the UK’s contribution to Sri Lanka’s Peacebuilding Priority Plan; a joint strategy agreed by the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka to support long term post-conflict peacebuilding in Sri Lanka.

Phil Miller Highlights UK’s Double Standards on Human Rights of Tamils

http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/news-features/human-rights/530-in-the-shadow-of-military-sri-lankas-new-democracy-and-tamil-people

http://www.ptsrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/britains_dirty_war.pdf

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