SOUTH AFRICAN TAMILS CALL ON THEIR GOVERNMENT TO BOYCOTT CHOGM SUMMIT IN PROTEST AGAINST THE GENOCIDE COMMITTED BY THE SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT

By Subry Govender A strong call has been made to the ANC Government in South Africa to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of State Conference (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka in two weeks' time. The call was made at a public meeting of the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice(SGFPJ) held at the Arupta Kazgham Tamil Hall in the Indian-origin- dominated suburb of Chatsworth in Durban, South Africa on Sunday, November 3.

Mrs Sally Padaychee, wife of the late Minister Roy Padaychee, at the Solidarity meeting. On her left is Mr Kana Nirmalan of the British Tamil Forum and Mr Dees Pillay of the Solidarity Group. The meeting was attended by representatives of a number of Tamil organisations in South Africa and ordinary people. Mrs Sally Padaychee, wife of the late Cabinet Minister Roy Padaychee; Mr Les Govender, a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature; Mr Richard Govender and Mrs Thiru of the former Tamil Co-Ordinating Committee; Mrs Veni Pather of the South African Tamil Federation; writer Dr Deena Padaychee and cultural leader, Dr Juggie Pather, were some of the people who attended the meeting.

Some of the people who attended the meeting

Mr Solly Pillay Public Relations Officer of the Solidarity Group The meeting was addressed by officials of the Solidarity Group - Mr Pregs Padaychee, secretary; Mr Solly Pillay, public relations officer, and Mr Dees Pillay, assistant secretary.

Mr Pregs Padaychee Secretary of Solidarity Group Three representatives of the British Tamils Forum - Mr V. Ravi Kumar, general secretary; Mr S. Mangales and Mr Kana Nirmalan also addressed the meeting. The BTF officials, who arrived in South Africa on Friday, had earlier held discussions with some leaders of the ANC, Mr Mac Maharah, official spokesperson for President Jacob Zuma, and Mr Sdumo Dlamini, president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions(Cosatu). The BTF officials had stopped over in South Africa prior to them attending the International Tamil Conference in Mauritius on November 8, 9 and 10.

Mr S Mangales, Mr V Ravi Kumar and Mr Kana Nirmalan of the British Tamil Forum The meeting resolved that Tamils in South Africa and the world abhorred the "atrocities and genocide" committed by the Sri Lankan Government soldiers towards the end of the civil war in 2009 and, therefore, the South African Government should boycott the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka. "Just as the ANC and the people of South Africa fought against the oppression of the former apartheid regime, this meeting of representatives of the Tamil people urge the Government to boycott the CHOGM conference. "The South African Government is obliged to take the lead in supporting the cause of the Tamils in Sri Lanka," said Mr Solly Pillay when moving the resolution at the end of the meeting. The Canadian and Australian governments are the only Commonwealth nations who have so far announced that they would not attend the conference because of the human rights atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Government and its soldiers against the Tamil people.

Some of the people who attended the meeting seen have a chat afterwards.

Mrs Veni Pather of the South African Tamil Federation The Tamil Nadu Government in India recently called on its own government, led by Dr Manmohan Singh, to boycott the CHOGM summit because of the violation of the rights of Tamil people in Sri Lanka. More than 60 000 Tamils were butchered and massacred by Sri Lankan soldiers during the end of the civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government in 2009. The meeting heard from the British Tamils Forum leaders that they were puzzled at the attitude of the South African Government in refusing to come out strongly in support of the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka. "We believe that you people in South Africa must keep the door open with the Government and call on it to support the struggles of the Tamil people for justice and self-determination just as we supported the cause of the ANC against the apartheid regime," said Mr Kana Nirmalan, chief spokesperson for the BTF, who first addressed the meeting. Mr Nirmalan said those who committed the atrocities and genocide against the Tamils in Sri Lanka should be called to account for their actions by the international community. "In this regard we believe South Africa and India should take the lead on behalf of the Tamils of Sri Lanka," he said. "The Tamils of Sri Lanka are the original inhabitants of the island and we demand self-determination in the North and East of the country. We have been in the island for more than 3 000 years and we do not consider ourselves as being a 'minority'. "But what is happening now is that the Sri Lankan Government is embarking on a new kind of colonisation by settling tens of thousands of Singalese people on land occupied by Tamils. They want to make us a minority in our own traditional land." He said Tamils had been fighting for their self-determination and freedom for more than 30 years. The secretary of the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lanka, Mr Pregs Padyachee, informed the meeting that actions of the South African Government in not supporting the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka as "very disturbing". He said the ANC had always supported the Tamils in Sri Lanka when it was spear-heading the struggles for freedom in South Africa. "We are very concerned that there now seems to be some change. We cannot understand this latest situation," said Mr Padaychee. "The real reasons why there has been a change on the part of the South African Government will be released at the International Tamil Conference that is to be held in Mauritius on November 8, 9 and 10. Until then we will not say anything. "It's very painful that South Africa has not yet indicated that it will boycott the CHOGM conference in order to show its solidarity with the Tamil people of Sri Lanka," he said.

Mr Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim(Centre), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, had at one time tried to help the Tamils in Sri Lanka Mr Padaychee said the late Minister Roy Padaychee was instrumental in setting up the Solidarty Group to support the cause of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The current Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, had at one time headed a special committee of the South African Government to try and help resolve the Sri Lankan situation.