2,000 Tamils stage protest at UN in Geneva
PHOTO: A group of Tamils hand over a petition to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay.
Thousands of Tamils from across Europe protested in front of UN headquarters in Geneva Monday demanding the creation of an international tribunal to try alleged “war crimes” committed in Sri Lanka.
Some 2,000 protestors, according to the SDA-ATS Swiss news agency, waved banners and placards in favour of self-determination for the Tamil minority and denounced “genocidal acts”.
“We have proof of war crimes. We demand justice,” declared some placards, while others demanded that Sri Lanka publish its “list of 18,000 prisoners”.
The protestors paid tribute to victims of the civil war that claimed tens of thousands of lives and ended in 2009 when the Liberation Tigers Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were forced from the north and east of Sri Lanka by the army.
The demonstrators were also demanding that the UN Human Rights Council, meeting until March 23 in Geneva, adopt a resolution on Sri Lanka.
At the previous session in September 2011, the council had deferred its decision pending the outcome of investigations by the authorities in Colombo.
“Three years have passed since the Sri Lankan government announced the end of armed conflict, but to date there have been no steps taken towards a permanent political solution to match the aspirations of the people of Tamil Eelam,” said a statement from the Coordinating Committee of Tamils in Switzerland.
The Tamil associations called on UN member countries to open “an independent international investigation into the systematic genocide of Tamils by successive Sinhalase governments” in Sri Lanka.
The association also wants the withdrawal of the army from north and east of the island, the holding of a UN organized referendum and the right to self determination of Tamils.
They were also demanding a general amnesty for political prisoners and for their immediate release.
Early in the session of the Human Rights Council, the United States announced its intention to file a draft resolution to support “a process of true reconciliation” in Sri Lanka.
Washington wants Colombo to agree to take measures to fight against impunity.
The Sri Lankan government has said, however, it rejects outside interference, AFP reports.
Source: AFP
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Who cares about the aspirations of 0.05% diaspora Tamils, some of whom are born outside SL! They want an independent state for the Tamils in SL, for their so-called Tamil nation. Majority of Tamils in N & E, who number 1.6 million do not want a sovereign state for themselves, unlike the rabid minority diaspora Tamils. They are happy as they are to develop on fast-track with security for their families and a certain future, IN ONE LANKA ONE NATION.
LET THE TAMIL NATION BE FORMED IN TAMIL NADU WHERE THE TAMILS NUMBER 70 MILLION.
It is VP and the LTTE who committed most vile and atrocious war crimes and crimes against humanity towards both communities. But these diaspora Tamils have concocted lies upon lies of genocide by the SL army in liberating the SL Tamils held hostage by the LTTE, who killed some of them as they escaped to the safety of SL army side. They are an evil lot! They will never acheive their demands. SL is a sovereign nation who will defend itself and its people if imperial West try to intervene militarily as in Libya and Syria, through acts of subversion, destabilisation and paid rabble to cause riots in SL.
LTTE terror supporters still waiting their get pee eelam,we all know that past 30 years this terror group destroyed sri lanka economics.
You’re free to weep & cry there till end of this month. Now It’s better than the killing innocent civilians as before you did for a DREAM HOMELAND..!!!
And also you can make a film of ‘dream homeland’ because you’re fond of seeing false & murderous films like ‘killing fields’.
Do that also to fulfill your unrealistic, miserable, malicious desire of dream homeland for 3% separatist tamils…!
Then your beloved Killing Leader is currently enjoying a Great Homeland at the Hell with his colleagues. You’re free to join with them also..!
THIS 2000 IS MEMBERS OF LTTE WHO CARE THOSE ANIMAL,
Will the satakaya be worn to the electric chair?
These guys who are refugees in the Western World have no idea of what’s going on in the North and East. Under the leadership of His Excellency and Hon Devananda supported by Hon Basil Rajapaksa, the North and east are blooming like flowers in spring after 30 years of bloodshed.
These guys can assist their community by coming back to the North and East and giving a shoulder to the develoment efforts instead of flying flags in the cold.
I am tamizh person living in the North and I want peace and United Sri Lanka. The days of war and division are gone. Goodbye bad days. We don’t want to talk about it any longer. We want one country and we want to live with our Sinhala and Muslim brothers and sisters.
May be it is a good idea to investigate war crimes because it forces US, Canada, Australia, Norway and UK to depot Tamil war criminal leaders actively operating in those countries back to SL for SL government to investigate and punish.
In a way this can be a golden opportunity for SL to finish off the existing LTTE rump outside Sri lanka. Rudrakumaran, Poopalapillai, Nedumaran etc etc are still roaming free, and those western countries will have to support their own resolution to investigate war crimes by arresting all those war criminals in their countries.
India also has to answer since creating, training and utilising terrorists to kill people in Sri lanka is also a war crime and a long list of politicians and officials in India are also war criminals related to the war in SL.
If they refuse to hand those criminals over, then SL government can also stop the investigations in wholesale because either you investigate all or none.
What a brilliant approach by Majula; I wish Sri Lanka produces more women of the caliber of Manjula because most women are only good enough to be sex slaves for lower class Arab oil shieks.
The more samter women from SL’s lower middle class migrated to White man’s lands including Australia where they are in dignified work such as public toilet cleaners, supermarket shelf stackers, leaders in the cleaning industry.
I hope Manjula is doing better than that in Australia.