From Mullivaikkal to the Foreign Office – Ed Miliband’s record on Tamils and Sri Lanka

^{Miliband speaking at British Tamil event at the Houses of Parliament in 2013.}

Ed Miliband, appointed Foreign Secretary on Monday in Prime Minister Andy Burnhams first cabinet reshuffle, arrives at the Foreign Office with a longer record on Tamil affairs than almost any of his predecessors. During his time as Labour leader between 2010 and 2015, Miliband issued statements marking Mullivaikkal and Black July, wished the British Tamil community well at the Tamil New Year, met Tamil representatives ahead of successive UN Human Rights Council sessions, and raised Sri Lanka directly on the floor of the House of Commons.

He also wrote for the Tamil Guardian, using our pages to argue that Sri Lanka should be denied the chairmanship of the Commonwealth.

Miliband, who replaces Yvette Cooper, now holds the office once occupied by his brother, David Miliband, who as Foreign Secretary described the final phase of the armed conflict as a "war without witness". The responsibility for delivering the accountability that Ed Miliband spent years demanding from opposition now rests with him.

We look back on his engagement with Tamils and Sri Lanka.

2012: Mourning Mullivaikkal

Milibands earliest recorded statement to the community came in May 2012, in a message for Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, commemorating the third anniversary of the end of the armed conflict. Writing as leader of the Labour Party, he told Tamils that his thoughts were with them as they honoured their dead, and set out an early version of the position he would hold for the next three years.

"The terrible events that took place in 2009 resonate to this day. Three years on, no credible accountability process has been initiated from within Sri Lanka to investigate the serious allegations of war crimes detailed in the UN Panel of Experts report," he said.

He added that the Labour Party had called for "an international, independent inquiry into the conduct of the wars final months", and warned that if progress was not seen, the British Government "should keep under review the matter of UK representation" at the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka.

2013: The Commonwealth summit and a Tamil Guardian piece

The following February, Miliband addressed the Global Tamil Forums third anniversary conference at the Palace of Westminster, alongside senior figures from all three major British parties. Praising the British Tamil community, he told the room they were "part of what makes Great Britain", and said the Labour Party was "determined to work for international independent investigation".

As the Commonwealth summit in Colombo approached, British Tamil representatives met Miliband to voice their concerns. Days later, on 13 November 2013, he wrote directly for this publication.

In his opinion piece for the Tamil Guardian, published as David Cameron flew to Colombo, Miliband argued that the then Prime Minister, having rejected calls to boycott the summit, should at least ensure Sri Lanka was not permitted to chair the Commonwealth for the next two years.

"An estimated 40,000 civilians died in that brutal conflict and yet there has still been no investigation into allegations of war crimes because the Sri Lankan government has so far refused to carry one out," he wrote.

He continued: "My party has been clear that in our view we believe that this lamentable human rights situation meant that the British Prime Minister - like the Canadian and Indian Prime Ministers - should not attend the summit."

Miliband singled out Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksas impending appointment as Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth, writing that there were "many, myself included, who have serious reservations about President Rajapaksas suitability for this important role", and urging Cameron to work with other Commonwealth leaders to secure an alternative candidate.

He returned to the subject in the House of Commons on 18 November 2013, responding to Camerons statement on the Commonwealth meeting. Miliband told the House that it was united "in our abhorrence of terrorism and in recognising that what happened in Sri Lanka, particularly towards the end of the conflict in 2009, when tens of thousands of innocent civilians were murdered, totally fails the test of those values".

Pressing Cameron on Rajapaksas suitability to chair the Commonwealth and questioning the value of his attendance, Miliband concluded:

"The legacy of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka is in contradiction to the good traditions of the Commonwealth. We believe we cannot let the matter rest. Britain must do what it can to ensure that the truth emerges about the crimes that were committed, so that there can be justice for those who have suffered so much."

2014: Pushing for an international inquiry

Ahead of the March 2014 session of the UN Human Rights Council, Miliband met the British Tamil community and pledged to press the coalition government to act. His press officer told the Tamil Guardian at the time:

"We would support a motion for UN international inquiry, but believe March is too late to start the process and British Government should push for this now."

The British Tamils Forum said that Miliband had promised he would "do everything he could to get the UK government to use its position in the UNHRC to establish an international independent investigation".

On 26 March 2014, as the UN Human Rights Council prepared to vote on a UK-sponsored resolution for an international investigation, Miliband raised the matter again in the Commons during a debate on the European Council and Nuclear Security Summit. Thanking the Prime Minister for setting out the actions taken, he asked what the next steps would be "to ensure that the inquiry we all want to see actually happens".

In April, Miliband sent a message for the Tamil New Year, praising the "many positive contributions British Tamils have made to this countrys social, cultural, political and economic life". He welcomed the UNHRC resolution paving the way for an inquiry, and said his party remained "deeply concerned" by the plight of Tamils and the "on-going perpetration of human rights violations". In his full message, he wrote:

"It is imperative that the British Government and others bring pressure to bear on the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure that the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Sri Lankans are respected."

For Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day the following month, Miliband issued a statement expressing his regret at the failure to secure justice five years on. A "genuine reckoning with the past can help lay the foundations of a sustainable peace", he said, adding:

"In the weeks and months ahead, the Labour Party will continue to prevail upon the UK Government and others the need to scrutinise the situation in Sri Lanka and provide unequivocal support to the OHCHR investigation."

The statement was read out by the Labour MP Barry Gardiner at the Mullivaikkal commemoration in London, where thousands of Tamils gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the massacre.

That July, marking the anniversary of the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom, Miliband released a statement on Black July. He commemorated "the lives of Tamil men, women and children that were lost and those who were displaced and exiled as a result of the regrettable violence", and said: "We may never know exactly how many lives were lost, but it is clear that the memories of the violence that ensued still live on. And it is important that we never forget."

Reiterating Labours support for an international investigation, he added: "I believe an international investigation would be the first small step towards a permanent political settlement that would be acceptable to both parties and towards the permanent peace which is the precondition for rebuilding a successful Sri Lanka."

2015: A change of government in Colombo

When Maithripala Sirisena defeated Rajapaksa in the January 2015 presidential election, Miliband welcomed what he called a "new era" in Sri Lankan politics. He said the new government must "build an inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka that works for all of its people that includes all communities, Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim", and called for the new era to be "guided by the principles of freedom, justice and fairness". Labour, he confirmed, would urge the new government to cooperate with the UN inquiry.

Later that month, Miliband delivered a video address to the annual dinner of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, organised by the British Tamils Forum, where he applauded the Tamil communitys contribution to British society and echoed calls for the new Sri Lankan government to cooperate fully with the UN investigation, noting that this would only be a first step.

In March 2015, Miliband met Sri Lankan President Sirisena in London, alongside Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander. He raised the ongoing military presence in the Tamil homeland and the plight of political prisoners, highlighting the "extreme importance" of the diaspora and the "deep unhappiness" in the Tamil community over the atrocities committed during the armed conflict. A Labour statement said Miliband had "pressed the importance of an independent international investigation".

His final Tamil New Year message as Labour leader, delivered in April 2015 as a video address, was among his most direct. Thanking the community for its "incredible contribution", he said:

"The Labour Party has always been a friend of the Tamil community and will continue to be so, and we will continue to push for the full and independent, international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Its something I raised with President Sirisena when I met him and we will continue to push this forward, we will continue to advocate for your cause."

The message prompted an intervention from the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, which demanded an apology and accused Miliband of making a "mistake" in wishing only the Tamil community a happy new year. Miliband, according to the report, responded by passing on his wishes for the Sinhala New Year as well.

From the backbenches to the Foreign Office

After stepping down as Labour leader following the partys 2015 general election defeat, Milibands public engagement on Sri Lanka receded as he returned to the backbenches and later to the energy brief. But his record was not forgotten. When Labour returned to power in 2024, the Tamil Guardian noted his history in a feature on the incoming cabinet, recalling his pledge to push for a "full and independent international investigation".

Miliband takes charge of the Foreign Office having spent his years as Labour leader calling for a full, independent and international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Responsibility for the United Kingdoms position on that question now sits with him.