The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), M. Pier Ferdinando Casini, has expressed deep concern at the reported abduction of family members of three Tamil National Alliance members of the parliament of Sri Lanka to pressure them into refraining from voting against the budget.

President Casini recalled that kidnapping is illegal everywhere, and urged those responsible for the act to release the hostages immediately. He also called on the Government of Sri Lanka to do everything within its power to ensure that the parliamentarians concerned can freely exercise their mandate and cast their vote as they see fit without fearing for the safety of their families. Otherwise, democracy itself would suffer a severe blow.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 146 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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