By Martin Banks - 28th January 2009
There is real need for financial assistance in Sri Lanka
British MEP Nirj Deva
MEPs have joined forces to demand EU assistance to help tackle an escalating humanitarian crisis in war-torn Sri Lanka.
The appeal came as the Sri Lankan army continued its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country.
The international committee of the Red Cross warned this week that the battle is causing a humanitarian crisis. It says hundreds of civilians have been killed and a quarter of a million people are trapped by the fighting.
Speaking at a meeting in parliament on Wednesday, MEP Geoffrey van Orden of the Friends of Sri Lanka group called for the redoubling of efforts to help those caught up in the unrest.
The British EPP-ED deputy said, “There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country and I think, following what we have seen recently in Gaza, people will be only too willing to help.
“International coverage of the current problem will, hopefully, raise further awareness of what is going on.”
His comments were echoed by fellow Conservative deputy Nirj Deva, who appealed to the EU to commit funds to help the reconstruction process in Sri Lanka.
He said, “The EU has been pouring goodness knows that into places like Afghanistan for years, but there is also a real need for financial assistance in Sri Lanka to help with the reconstruction of schools and roads.”
Both MEPs were speaking at a meeting in parliament attended by the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Rohitha Bogollagama.
Bogollagama is visiting Brussels to help drum up support for his government’s efforts to strike a death blow to the 25-year insurgency in his country, one of the longest-running in Asia.
He told the meeting that it was in Europe’s interest as well as Sri Lanka’s that the rebels were defeated.
“Europe must ensure that it does not hand a lifeline to these people,” he said.
The UN secretary general and the EU have also expressed deep concern for civilians caught in the fighting.
After the meeting with MEPs, Bogollagama was due to meet parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering before returning home.
Earlier in the week, he held talks with EU commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Catherine Ashton and Margot Wallström, as well as representatives of the Czech presidency and the Belgian government.
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