SENAKA C.B. WALGAMPAYA PC (Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia) INTERVIEW - 29th March 2009
Late this week, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia, Mr
Senaka Walgampaya, bought into the debate over the future of his
country. Among other things, controversially, he claimed there was no
reason for Australia to accept Tamil refugees from the civil war on
either political or humanitarian grounds. At the same time,
international calls are emerging at the UN and EU levels for a war
crimes investigation into the behaviour of both the Tamil Tigers and
the Sri Lankan Government in the last days of the conflict, which has
left as many as 300,000 people, mainly Tamils, displaced. George Negus
spoke with the High Commissioner from Canberra.
GEORGE NEGUS: High Commissioner, thanks very much for your
time. After
so many years, a quarter of a century of bitter conflict between Tamils
and non-Tamil Sri Lankans, it is really almost impossible for the rest
of us to understand that that can ever be resolved, particularly by a
military victory. You are not suggesting that's really going to change
the deep-seated antagonism between the two sides?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA, SRI LANKAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO AUSTRALIA: I like to
distinguish between the Tamils and the LTTE. The Sri Lankan Government
has been waging a war against terrorism. It's war against the LTTE, but
the Tamils are part of Sri Lanka, and the Sinhalese have no problems at
all with the Tamils. In fact, more than 50% of the Tamils live in areas
outside the north and east. They have been living so for last
centuries. There have been no problem between the Sinhalese and the
Tamils. It is really a handful of terrorists that have been causing all
these problems.
GEORGE NEGUS: Could we talk about the area where the battle
was fought
so ferociously in the last few weeks? What about the people who were
displaced there? We hear figures like 300,000 people are displaced as a
result of that conflict. What is your government actually doing about
that? And why, in fact, can't aid agencies, media like ourselves, get
into that area now, that you say the military action is over, to see
for ourselves what the situation is?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: There are, in fact, 52 NGOs who in the LTTE camps
now, so they are permitted to come there now. And the government is
facing a colossal task - about 270,000 refugees are in the camps at the
moment - and the government is stressed to the maximum but it is
providing housing, sanitation, food, humanitarian assistance, medical
supplies.
GEORGE NEGUS: Why is it then that this week the Red Cross have
said
they can't work there, given the conditions that apply from your
government? The Red Cross have pulled out.
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: No, Red Cross is there today. By my understanding
the Red Cross is still there. It is functioning, the ICRC is there.
GEORGE NEGUS: That's not my information. That said, what about
the
media? What happened for instance if I said to you that on Monday
morning, I would like to have on your desk an application for a visa to
visit your country with a television crew and go to the areas where
that battle was fought over the last few weeks, and move about the
north and east, and anywhere in your country they wanted to go, to see
for ourselves the situation as it exists now. A, can I get that visa,
and B, can I go anywhere in your country if I did?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: No, now that the battle is finished, I think the
concerns of the security of the media and the people that the
government entertained earlier, would no longer be there.
GEORGE NEGUS: You think? But could I apply for a visa and get
it?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: Well, you could certainly try, and we'd have to get
instructions from Colombo, but I don't think there should be any
problem now. Earlier, the media was not allowed to come into the
conflict zone purely for the safety of the media personnel themselves.
Because, as you know, the area was heavily mined by the LTTE and if one
media person got killed or injured, then the Sri Lankan Government
would be held responsible.
GEORGE NEGUS: But at the moment, with your military in
control, that
shouldn't be a problem now, should it?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: It should not be a problem now.
GEORGE NEGUS: Right. So there would be freedom of movement, we
could go
to the camps where the displaced people are, see for ourselves the
condition under which they are living? Because that situation has been
described as being in the same class, bad class, in the same state as
places like Darfur, in Africa, and Gaza, in the Middle East - that
people are living under appalling, horrific conditions.
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: I completely reject that suggestion. The reason that
the government - up to last week, they had 190,000-odd refugees - and
they provided them the maximum facilities possible. Now sadly, in the
last week, another 50,000, 60,000 came in, so the government, the
facilities, are stretched to a maximum, but under given circumstances,
the government is doing its best to provide everything for them. So the
government has not been remiss at all.
GEORGE NEGUS: How do you feel about the fact that there are,
the EU,
for instance, and the UN, and even the British Foreign Minister, David
Miliband, said that there are very grave allegations of war crimes that
went on there, on both sides of the conflict, that they should be
properly investigated. I know it is a pretty horrible term to use with
a diplomat, but war crimes is very serious stuff and there are people
in the world who believe that possibly went on in your country, not
just over 25 years, but particularly, most recently, and that needs to
be investigated.
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: No, I must state quite categorically the Sri Lankan
Government cannot under any circumstances be held to be guilty of any
war crimes. As you know, in the last, maybe a month or so, the Sri
Lankan military forces carried out the largest humanitarian relief
operation ever - all the people were held hostage by the LTTE as human
shields. And it is the Sri Lankan Government forces which provided, at
the risk to their own lives, when the Sri Lankan Government gave two
humanitarian pauses, the LTTE built fortifications and with the
equipment that was given to the NGOs at the time of the last tsunami,
probably contributed the Australian government too, the LTTE did not
use all this heavy equipment and machinery for development of the
humanitarian system, but kept them to build fortifications.
GEORGE NEGUS: I don't think anybody would try to absolve the
way the
LTTE behaved. It was quite abominable and inexcusable on so many
occasions. Nobody is disputing that. But if, as you said, there is
nothing for the Sri Lankan Government - well, the Sri Lankan Government
is not trying to hide anything, if there were to be a UN request for an
inquiry into what actually went on there, on both sides, would your
Government agree and be party to that if you have nothing to hide?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: But allegations of war crimes itself is a very
serious thing. Only if there is some prima facie case of war crimes
such allegations should not be made. It is for that reason the Sri
Lankan Government has rejected the allegation. There is not an ounce of
evidence to say that the Sri Lankan Government has been guilty of any
war crimes.
GEORGE NEGUS: I take that as a no, that you wouldn't cooperate
with
even the UN if they wanted to investigate.
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: As I said, there is no evidence whatsoever to say
that the Sri Lankan Government is guilty of war crimes. On the
contrary, the Sri Lankan Government must be commended by the
international community for wiping out terrorism. You know that the
LTTE was the most ruthless terrorist organisation and our government
has suffered so much, our civilians have suffered so much, our security
forces have suffered so much in this process and they - at the risk of
their own lives - they rescued - nearly now 276,000 civilians from the
clutches of the LTTE.
GEORGE NEGUS: Mr High Commissioner, just finally, 25, 26, some
people
say even longer years of bitter conflict in your country as a result of
this civil war - how long do you think it will take to rebuild your
country so there is any semblance of peace, unity, democracy, the sort
of
things that you and your Prime Minister, your President, are aspiring
to?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: The Sri Lankan Government has pledged to hold
elections, local elections by the end of the year, and thereafter,
hopefully (inaudible) elections.
GEORGE NEGUS: And the displaced people? How long will it take
you to
make those displaced people no longer displaced?
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: The government hopes to settle at least 80% of the
displaced people in their own homes by the end of the year. That is a
bit of a task, for the reason that the LTTE has heavily mined all the
areas. So as soon as the de-mining operations are complete the
government has pledged to do that.
GEORGE NEGUS: High Commissioner, thank you very much for your
time. We
know it's a very, very complex situation and thank you very much for
sharing your views with us today.
SENAKA WALGAMPAYA: Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Thank you.