Friday, 16 November 2012 – “Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN to adequately respond… during the final stages of the conflict and its aftermath, to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of civilians” according to the UN internal review panel. The British Tamils Forum has been continuously calling for an International Independent Investigation into the conduct of the war in Sri Lanka for the past three years. But the international institutions and the UN member states have been ignoring this call at great expense to the Tamil people who had survived the war. Raj Vakesan, the Political Advocacy team leader of British Tamils Forum commented, “We are in the 4th year after the bloody end to the Civil War in Sri Lanka. During and after this war numerous crimes against the Tamil people were committed by the Sri Lankan state and these crimes continue to be committed with absolute impunity”. He further questioned, “How can we know the “intent” of these crimes without an international independent investigation?” He further reminded that the UN has the responsibility to investigate War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and the Crime of Genocide under the 60/1- 2005 World Summit Outcome to which Sri Lanka is also a signatory.
The United Nations is still failing in its mandate to protect civilians in Sri Lanka; the current situation need immediate intervention to stop the ongoing structural Genocide. Having massacred more than 40,000 within a few weeks leading to the end of the war, the Sri Lankan state has now embarked on depleting the Tamil population even further by starving the remaining Tamil people to death. Taking away their livelihoods in farming and fishing the Tamil people are deprived of the fundamental right to life.
Those who dare to resist these crimes against humanity are forcefully disappeared by the Sri Lankan “white van” death squads.
The daily boat loads of Tamil people leaving the shores of the island should be a clear indicator of the extent of persecution the Tamil people are subjected to by the Sri Lankan State.
The recent World Tamil Conference in London has called upon the member states of the United Nations to urgently set up an International Independent Investigation into the complete conduct of the Sri Lankan State.
However critical this UN internal review report is, it has come too late for the tens of thousands who were massacred under the UN watch despite the loudest and continuous alarm bells rung across the world capitals, by the relatives of those who perished. However, what is more alarming presently is the continuing inaction by the international community to arrest the deteriorating situation faced by the Tamil people. What is of utmost importance is an immediate establishment of an international investigative mechanism to send a very clear signal to the Sri Lankan regime that the international community will not stand by any longer allowing the State to continue its programme of Tamil Genocide. Another report in another six months time will be too late for those who would have perished in the hands of the Sri Lankan regime or while trying to flee the island.
We call upon the International Community to immediately establish an International Independent Investigation into the complete conduct of the Sri Lankan State against the Tamil Nation to investigate war crimes; crimes against humanity and crime of genocide committed and continue to be committed against the Tamil People.
Contact: Shan Sutha Tel: +44 (0) 7927 023 912
Email: media@tamilsforum.com