CALD Resolution No. 4 S. 2005

CALD Resolution No. 4 S. 2005

Sri Lanka has lost a deeply respected statesman dedicated to peace and national unity

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan

CALD Resolution expressing its profound condolences to the family of the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and to the people of Sri Lanka; enjoining the international community to denounce in the strongest terms his senseless and brutal murder and its perpetrators; and condemning the use of violence and other acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka and the rest of world.

Saddened that Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, was gunned down in his home last August 12 and later died in a Colombo hospital;

Remembering that Minister Kadirgamar was one of the keynote speakers during the Conference on Wealth Creation and Sustainable Development (Colombo, 2003) sponsored by the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats (CALD) and that the participants were impressed by his insight and eloquence;

Concerned that, as stated by the European Union Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the assassination would “restart conflict and rob the worthy people of Sri Lanka of peace, reconciliation and prosperity they so clearly deserve after decades of civil war and the devastating tsunami” and, as noted by the spokesman for the government of Chandrika Kumaratunga, the killing has “seriously undermined efforts to revive the peace process stalled since April 2003”;

Convinced that the assassination is a dastardly act of terrorism that must be condemned and that the perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice;

Disturbed that Mr. Kadirgamar—a respected citizen of Sri Lanka who enjoyed international stature and who had dedicated his life to peace, democracy and national unity—had himself fallen victim to this vicious act of terrorism;

Believing that, as appealed by the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, “the leaders (of Sri Lanka should) react with wisdom and justice, but also with firmness”;

The Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats hereby express its profound condolences to the family of the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and to the people of Sri Lanka; enjoining the international community to denounce in the strongest terms his senseless and brutal murder and its perpetrators; and condemn the use of violence and other acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka and the rest of world.

For the CALD Executive Committee:

Hon. Bi-Khim Hsiao, MP

Secretary General

August 4, 2005 Taipei, Taiwan

Categorised in: Resolutions

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