Swiss call for political dialogue in Sri Lanka

The Swiss government has welcomed the end of the armed conflict in the north of Sri Lanka.

It regretted however that international humanitarian law had been violated and appealed to all parties to comply with and to ensure respect for international regulations and obligations.

“Switzerland calls on Sri Lanka to grant rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to the distressed population, particularly for internally displaced persons,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The government also called on all parties “to refrain from incitement to hatred and to work towards reconciliation by means of unilateral or jointly agreed measures”.

The foreign ministry repeated its willingness to provide support in the areas of humanitarian aid, humanitarian protection and the elaboration of institutional solutions for the protection of minorities.

On Tuesday Sri Lanka’s president declared his country “liberated from separatist terror” as the military said it recovered the body of Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

In his victory address to parliament, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeared to reach out to the minority Tamils, for whom the rebels had said they were trying to carve out a homeland. He also alluded to promises to forge a power-sharing agreement with them.

The conflict killed more than 70,000 people over 25 years. Another 265,000 ethnic Tamils were displaced in the recent offensive and many have been sent to overcrowded camps in the north.

There are 42,000 people of Sri Lankan origin in Switzerland, of whom 90-95 per cent are Tamils.

swissinfo.ch with agencies