Global Tamils to continue push against oppressive GoSL rule

January 31, 2013

Tamil political and civil society representatives and Diaspora groups would continue to push for an end to the oppressive Government of Sri Lanka rule, the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) said in a statement issued yesterday.

Full text of a statement issued by GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran on behalf of all organizations, which participated at a two-day conference in Berlin: "Tamil political and civil society representatives, and Diaspora groups had convened in Berlin on January 26 and 27, 2013 for progressive discussions on how to end the Sri Lankan State’s continued agenda of destruction of Tamil people’s identity (genocidal), the heightened oppressive conditions, the threat to Tamil’s claim of the North and East of the island being their area of historic habitation (homeland) and to achieve consensus on addressing the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people through a negotiated political solution.

"This is a continuation of on-going discussions between Tamil groups that first began in November 2012. Representatives from Tamil political parties, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and Tamil Civil Society from Sri Lanka, joined representatives from Diaspora groups International Councils of Eelam Tamils (ICET), Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and Global Tamil Forum (GTF) in the two rounds of dialogue.

"These discussions will continue and progress with wider participation to bring together more Tamil and Tamil speaking people’s organisations in the months to come."

Navi wants to send more rapporteurs

FRIDAY, 01 FEBRUARY 2013

United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay has sought to dispatch ten special rapporteurs to Sri Lanka to assess the implementation of the recommendations by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the Daily Mirror learns.

This is in addition to last year’s visit of three officials from the High Commissioner’s office to Sri Lanka. Hanny Megally and Oscar Solera are the two officials who came to Sri Lanka in September last year.

However, it is learnt that the government of Sri Lanka has turned down the latest request to send special rapporteurs from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Instead, the External Affairs Ministry has insisted that Ms. Pillay should visit the country first to see for herself the progress being made in the post war area.

“It is the initial stand. First, a team of officials from her office arrived in the country and held talks with all the stakeholders. They came here to do the groundwork for her visit. We stick to that stand. It is impossible to endorse further missions by special rapporteurs,” an authoritative source said.

Ms. Pillay has been critical of Sri Lanka in recent times. Also, she sent a strongly worded letter to the government, criticizing the procedure adopted in the impeachment of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

The UNHRC adopted the United States-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka in March, last year. According to it, the High Commissioner is required to submit a report to the next session of the UNHRC regarding the progress on the implementation of measures outlined in the resolution.

Besides, the US has announced that they will move yet another ‘procedural resolution ‘on Sri Lanka at the next session to strengthen the previous resolution. The government is waiting to know the content of the proposed resolution to plan its next course of action. (Kelum Bandara)