John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views regarding the recent presidential elections in Sri Lanka; if his attention has been drawn to the recent protests and allegations of irregularities in the election; if these issues will be resolved ahead of the parliamentary elections which are due to take place in March or April 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7249/10]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the progress made towards the establishment of an international tribunal to hear evidence on human rights abuses during the recent war in Sri Lanka. [7157/10]

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will respond to the proposals made to him by the Permanent People's Tribunal regarding recent military action in Sri Lanka. [7151/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 94, 144 and 145 together.

I am aware of the findings of the Permanent People's Tribunal on Sri Lanka, the independent, NGO-led exercise held in Dublin last month which concluded that the Government and military of Sri Lanka were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war and that other charges should be followed up through further investigation. These conclusions reinforce the widely held view that serious breaches of international humanitarian law occurred during and after the final stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The Tribunal, however, considered only the actions of the Government and military of Sri Lanka. While it did not deny that war crimes were also committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), it did not examine the actions of LTTE forces. The Tribunal has provided a legal explanation as to why its mandate was focused exclusively on the Sri Lankan State and not on the LTTE, but it is regrettable that, as a result, the Tribunal's work is being written off as one-sided and biased by the Government of Sri Lanka and by others.

A key recommendation of the Tribunal is for a UN-led inquiry to be conducted into war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated during the final stages of the war between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the LTTE, and during the war's aftermath. Other recommendations relate to the need for: displaced people and detainees to be returned to their homes without delay; reconstruction and rehabilitation to get underway; measures to be put in place to promote national reconciliation, equality, democracy and justice; work to begin on a sustainable peace process addressing all issues of concern; and an international role in monitoring and supporting such developments.

As reported to Deputies previously, all of these measures have already been strongly advocated by the Government and by the EU. The EU led efforts last year to secure the agreement of the UN Human Rights Council to an independent international inquiry into breaches of international law during the closing stages of the war but, very regrettably, we were unsuccessful. While not optimistic that such an inquiry will be authorised anytime in the near future, we are still firmly of the view that one is essential.

It is likely that EU GSP+ privileges will be withdrawn from Sri Lanka due to its breaches of the human rights provisions in their Agreement with the EU. The EU has also made clear its readiness to support reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation efforts. We are very much of the view that long-term peace and stability in Sri Lanka can only be established on the basis of full justice and rights for all the inhabitants of the island.

As regards the recent elections in Sri Lanka, although all pre-election forecasting had predicted a very tight race, in the event incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse won 57.8% of the total votes cast, as compared with 40.2% for former Army Chief of Staff, Sarath Fonseka. Some 10.4 million voters - 70% of Sri Lanka's 14 million-strong electorate - turned out to vote, although the turnout in the Tamil areas in the north-east was less than 30%.

Although a number of violent incidents took place on election day, mainly in the Tamil North, voting was conducted in a relatively peaceful manner in most of the country. No external election monitors were permitted to observe the elections, but the local independent Centre for Monitoring Election Violence reported that, while they had received some reports of irregularities from some parts of the country, there was no evidence to suggest large-scale fraud during the vote. The United Nations, expressing satisfaction that the election had been conducted relatively peacefully, urged the country's political parties to abide by the official results.

The leading opposition candidate, General Fonseka, however, rejected the election results and announced that he will be challenging them in court. In addition to what he believed was threatening action against him by the military on the day after the elections, he has accused incumbent President Rajapakse of using the state media to attack him, of misappropriating public funds for his campaign and of preventing displaced minority Tamils from voting. Whether a case based on these allegations actually comes to court remains to be seen but, given the size of his electoral majority, there is virtually no chance that President Rajapakse's victory will be overturned.

A number of incidents since the elections have raised concerns as to the intentions of President Rajapakse and his Government, including in relation to the media. Also, on 8 February, General Fonseka was arrested and is facing a court martial, standing accused by the Government of working with anti-government forces and planning a coup and assassinations. Although Government representatives have stated that his arrest is unrelated to his entering politics and standing as an opposition candidate in the presidential election, the arrest of General Fonseka at this time raises many questions and concerns.

Following his electoral victory, President Rajapakse has said he will sit down with the Tamil minority to discuss devolution of power and he has called on all the people of Sri Lanka to unite in the task of rebuilding the nation. I very much hope that this will be the case.

As regards the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to be held on 8 April, it is hoped that they will be conducted in a peaceful and free manner. There seems little prospect, however, that international observers will be invited to monitor the elections and Government parties can be expected to avail of the same significant advantages they enjoyed in the Presidential elections in terms of access to media and resources. We in the EU will be pressing for the elections to be fully free and fair. They will provide an important opportunity for the Tamil population to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time in thirty years and to elect a new generation of leaders to represent them. It is hoped that they will be permitted by the Government and their own community to engage in the electoral process on a fair and equal footing.