“Sri Lankan President is the embodiment of the human rights violations and international crimes committed against the Tamils”
“The Blackout of the Tamil National Question in Gotabaya’s Speech Reinforces the Reality that the Tamil National Question Cannot be Resolved within the Existing State Structure”
Today the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) disputed Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s comments during his policy speech at the inauguration of a new session of Parliament on January 18, 2022. Gotabaya stated, “during my tenure, the government did not support any form of human rights violations.”
“It is partly true that he did not support the human rights violations, but he is the embodiment of the human rights violations and international crimes committed against the Tamils. The UN High Commissioner Al-Hussein has stated that the crimes committed during the final stages of the war were systemic crimes. During the final stages of the war the crimes were conceived and ruthlessly executed by the Sri Lankan State under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” said Mr.Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, Prime Minister, Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)*.
The complete blackout of the Tamil national question in the speech, reinforces the fact that the Sri Lankan State with its deeply entrenched and pervasive racism would not allow any kind of power sharing with the Tamils within the existing state structure, continued Mr;. Rudrakumaran.
The President in his speech stated that “a number of large-scale projects including Lower Malwathu Oya Reservoir Project to supply irrigation and drinking water to Mannar District and the development of new freshwater lagoons under the “River to Jaffna” project are “being constructed.”In response, Mr.Rudrakumaran commented on the State arranged settlements of Sinhalese people from the South in Manal Aru (Weli Oya), the Mahaweli Project in traditional Tamil areas of the NorthEastern part of Sri Lanka and stated that “Sinhala racism is continuing to employ the same old dirty tricks to colonize Tamil lands.”
During his speech President Rajapaksa mentioned that: “We are a nation that respects international laws and conventions. We need to correct the misconceptions that have been taken to the international community in the past regarding our human rights. I say with responsibility that during my tenure, the government did not support any form of human rights violations. We will also not leave room for any such act in the future. We do not condone such actions in any manner.”In response,
Mr. Rudrakumaran stated that “We want to remind the President that it was during his tenure as Defense Secretary, according to the UN Expert Panel Report and UN International Review Report, there is credible evidence that crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed.” He added that according to the People’s Tribunal, the Genocide Crime was also committed during the final stages of the war under the leadership of Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Mr. Rudrakumaran challenged the Sri Lankan President and said “If he really means what he says and has the moral courage, he should ratify the Rome Statute retrospectively and allow international accountability process to proceed.”
In fact, to seek justice for these atrocity crimes, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recommended referring Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Her call was endorsed by all the previous High Commissioners and several UN experts.
WATCH – Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: https://youtu.be/3aBLl_M3z40
Be the first to comment