British PM meets Rajapaksa, conveys acute concern

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 September 2008, 15:01 GMT]
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for Department for International Development Douglas Alexander met with President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka in New York Friday to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka. "The recent increased hostilities in the north of Sri Lanka are of acute concern to the UK Government," said a joint statement from the British International Development Minister Shahid Malik and Lord Malloch Brown, calling on both the parties, the GoSL and the LTTE, to respect their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to enable free access for humanitarian agencies. The statement also urged LTTE to take urgent action to allow free movement of civilians.

Full text of the statement follows:

Statement on Sri Lanka
26 September 2008

The following is a joint statement from DFID Minister Shahid Malik and Lord Malloch Brown in response to the emerging situation in Sri Lanka:

"The recent increased hostilities in the north of Sri Lanka are of acute concern to the UK Government. We welcome the Government of Sri Lanka recognising its responsibility to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the conflict and its continued co-ordination with humanitarian agencies.

"Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for Department for International Development Douglas Alexander met with President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka in New York today to discuss this situation.

"We urge the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to take urgent action to allow free movement of civilians. We call on both parties to respect their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to enable free access for humanitarian agencies and the protection of civilians affected by the conflict."