MP for Chipping Barnet, Theresa Villiers, has received a letter of thanks from the Global Tamil Forum regarding the visit of David Cameron to the northern part of Sri Lanka.
Ms Villiers takes a keen interest in Sri Lanka and has taken up the concerns of her British Tamil constituents regarding the situation in Sri Lanka and the injustices committed against Tamils.
A number of her British Tamil constiutents were concerned about the decision by the UK Government to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka. She passed these concerns on to the Government. She recently received a letter of thanks from the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) for these efforts.
In discussions with her constituents before CHOGM took place, Ms Villiers emphasised that Mr Cameron planed to use his visit to call for progress on the disappeared; investigations into human rights abuses; guaranteeing freedom of expression and stamping out intimidation of journalist and human rights defenders.
Mr Cameron used his visit to highlight concerns around the human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan Government, particularly in the closing weeks of the military conflict. He received worldwide media coverage of his visit to the north of Sri Lanka - the first by any world leader for many years - where spoke to those who have suffered as a result of the conflict there.
In a letter from Rev. Dr. S.J Emmanuel, President of GTF, to Theresa Villiers, he said “...I was pleased to note that Rt. Hon. Mr Cameron MP used the summit as a means to shine a spotlight on the country’s human rights concerns.... I am sure your engagement with the Prime Minister on these issues played an important role in influencing the position he took during CHOGM."
Theresa said: “I am grateful for the letter of thanks from GTF. I will continue to work with the British Tamil community in their efforts to call the Sri Lankan Government to account on its human rights record."
"The UK Government has spoken out many times on this issue, unlike our Labour predecessors. During their recent visit, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary met people from all sides to learn about how the UK can best support reform in Sri Lanka. At no stage did the previous Labour Government do this, saying little even during those terrible final weeks of the civil war."
“I will continue to be supportive of the efforts being made by the leaders of the UK’s Tamil Community and others to seek justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka."