Sri Lanka
13th May 2009
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asks the Government what can be done to convince the Sri Lankan Government to allow more aid into the country and to ensure it reaches those for whom it is intended.
Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold) (Con): I am sure that the whole House will have been shocked by the shelling of the Mullivaikal hospital and the consequent loss of life. What more can the Minister’s Department do to impress on the Sri Lankan Government that they should allow into the country all the aid—not just the food aid—that his Department allocates, and that they must ensure that it reaches those for whom it is intended?
Mr. Foster: I met the Sri Lankan high commissioner this morning to request not only greater international humanitarian access to the camps but United Nations access to the conflict zone, so that we can make a proper assessment of the needs in that area. I should like to pay tribute to the Red Cross worker who was killed yesterday in the conflict zone. He was a water technician who was working to try to save lives, not to prolong the conflict, and he has paid the ultimate price for doing that.