Raise War Crimes Committed by Sri Lankan President

Raise War Crimes Committed by Sri Lankan President: TGTE Urges Visiting South Korean Prime Minister

"According to a UN Internal Review Report, Sri Lankan troops killed over 70,000 Tamils in five months and raped hundreds of Tamil women"

Highlights by Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE):

1) Urged to raise the plight of 90,000 Tamil war widows and their daughters.

2) Raise the issue of sexual violence by the Sri Lankan armed forces against the Tamil women.

3) Allegations of Chemical Weapons use.

4) Urged to raise the plight of those surrendered.

5) UN Internal Review Report: 70,000 Tamils killed in five months.

As the the South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won begins his State visit to Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, urged him to raise war crimes and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan President.

"According to a UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, troops under the Sri Lankan President's command, killed over 70,000 Tamils in five months and raped hundreds of Tamil women," said Mr. Rudrakumaran.

"Tamils were singled out to face these abuses simply and solely on account of their Tamil nationality."

"There were allegations that Chemical weapons were used by the Sri Lankan security forces"

Mr. Rudrakumaran also urged the South Korean Prime Minister to raise the plight of 90,000 Tamil war widows and their daughters during her visit to Sri Lanka. “We urge you to remember that while you are meeting Sri Lankan President, several women are facing rape and sexual abuse by the Sri Lankan security forces.”  

According to a May 2012 report by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Human Rights and Democracy; there are up to 90,000 Tamil war widows in the North & East of Sri Lanka.

"We also urge you to raise the plight of thousands who surrendered to Sri Lankan Security Forces in May 2009, like a group led by Rev. Father Francis Joseph and Ehilian. Several witnesses saw Fr. Joseph and others surrendering to the Sri Lankan Security Forces. For the last four years no one has been allowed to meet them, he continued.

The appeal to South Korean Prime Minister also explained that Tamils have faced repeated mass killings since 1958 and that the killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of killings. According to this UN report tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed in five months due to deliberate and intense shelling and bombing of areas designated by the government as "no-fire zones", where Tamil civilians had assembled for safety.

"The Sri Lankan Government also restricted food and medicine for Tamils, resulting in large numbers of people dying from starvation and many of the injured bleeding to death," noted Mr. Rudrakuamran.

According to the UN Panel, the killings and other abuses that took place amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.

"According to Bishop of Mannar, Dr. Rayappu Joseph, 146,679 Tamils went missing when Sri Lankan forces attacked Tamil people. Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community," Mr. Rudrakumaran concluded.

ABOUT TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE)

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a new political concept, formed after the mass killing of Tamils in the final months of the war.

It is a political formation based on the principles of nationhood, homeland and self-determination. The raison dâetre for the TGTE is lack of political space inside the island of Sri Lanka for the Tamils to articulate and realize their political aspirations fully due to Constitutional impediments, racist political environment and military strangulation; and the coordination of diaspora political activities based on democratic principles and the rule of law.

TGTE held internationally supervised elections in 12 countries. These elections were held to ensure that core believe of democracy be upheld within the TGTE and to demonstrate TGTE’s belief and reliance upon democratic ideals. TGTE has a bicameral legislature and a Cabinet. Although an elected body, TGTE does not claim to be a government in exile. The Constitution of the TGTE mandates that it should realize its political objective only through peaceful means.

Presently, in addition to the campaign for an international investigation, the TGTE is also campaigning for an International Protection Mechanism and the release of documents pertaining to Tamils prepared by the Office of the Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. TGTE is also in the process of preparing the Freedom Charter incorporating the “freedom demands” of Tamils across the globe.

TGTE believes that the referendum among the Tamils inside the island of Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora will contribute to the political resolution of the Tamil national conflict. So far, the human cost has reached 100,000 as it grows. There are also 90,000 Tamil war widows, facing sexual abuse by the Sri Lankan security forces.

ENDS

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