The ECR & Conservative MEPs support a just and peaceful Solution.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group and British Conservative MEPs support a just and peaceful solution for the Tamil community of Sri Lanka by supporting calls for maximum autonomy and regional devolution to Tamil majority areas within a single Sri Lankan state, as well as justice for all war crimes committed by both sides during the conflict.

We support the territorial integrity and unity of Sri Lanka and hope all communities can find a way to live together in future, but we also support the peaceful and democratic pursuit of political goals, including self-rule. We totally oppose the pursuit of political goals by violence.

We condemn any climate of impunity anywhere and strongly insist that any war crimes and other deliberate atrocities be investigated and, if proven, the perpetrators punished. The EU listed the LTTE as a terrorist group in 2006, a decision we support absolutely, but we also demand that Sri Lankan government forces also be held accountable for violations of the rules of war. We are horrified by the events detailed in the Channel 4 documentary, and note that footage of summary execution of prisoners has been deemed authentic by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings.

We call on the Sri Lankan government to respond positively to the UN expert panel’s report, and to include a foreign component to the LLRC and to fully implement its findings. If the LLRC by the end of this year has not delivered on a full impartial investigation into the credible allegations of atrocities at the close of the civil war in 2009 then an international commission of enquiry is something the UK Government and the EU member states should consider given the atrocious scale and horrendous nature of the credible allegations made. The EU currently has suspended GSP+ trade concessions. They should not be extended to Sri Lanka till the issue of war crimes is resolved and those guilty brought to book.