By Subry Govender
The South African Tamil Federation(SATF), which represents the country's more than 650 000 people of Tamil origin, has called on Tamils to reflect on the struggles of Tamils in Sri Lanka as South Africa observes Human Rights Day on Friday, March 21.
Recalling the struggles of South Africans and the victory over apartheid and white minority rule in 1994, Ms Sashnee Naiker, PRO of the SATF, said:
"The South African Tamil Federation would like to urge our people to reflect on the struggles that Tamilians in Sri Lanka face today. We have seen the pictures, read the updates on the UN Resolutions and know that the voices of our people have been silenced. We humbly request everyone to
light a lamp on this day - paving a radiant freedom pathway for the people of Sri Lanka, so that they too can enjoy a privileged democracy."
Tamils and other concerned people in South Africa are keeping close watch on the developments in Geneva where the United Nations Human Rights Council session is currently in progress.
The UN Human Rights Council is expected to pass a resolution on Friday, March 28 calling for an international and independent investigation into the human rights violations that took place towards the end of the civil war in 2009.
International human rights and other concerned organisations have estimated that between 70 000 and 100 000 Tamils were slaughtered by Sri Lankan soldiers in 2009.
The organisations claim that human rights violations are still continuing in Sri Lanka with the Tamil homelands in the North and East being invaded and colonised by Sri Lankan soldiers. Mass evictions, rapes, arrests, detentions and killings have become the order in many parts of the colonised areas.
The organisations claim Tamils no longer feel free in their own homelands.
In addition to the calls for an independent and international investigation into the "war crimes", Tamil diaspora organisations have called for a referendum where Sri Lankan Tamils inside and outside the country could decide their own future.
Representatives of the South African Government recently said they would be holding talks with all Sri Lankan role players in order to promote a political solution that would promote interests of the Tamil people.
The ruling ANC's Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, would receive a delegation of the Tamil National Association(TNA) in Pretoria after March 28. He would then lead a delegation to Sri Lanka to conduct interviews and even visit the North and East of the island to talk to affected Tamils.
Ramaphosa would be accompanied by Deputy Minister of International Relations, Mr Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, and senior Government officials.
By Subry Govender
The South African Tamil Federation(SATF), which represents the country's more than 650 000 people of Tamil origin, has called on Tamils to reflect on the struggles of Tamils in Sri Lanka as South Africa observes Human Rights Day on Friday, March 21.
Recalling the struggles of South Africans and the victory over apartheid and white minority rule in 1994, Ms Sashnee Naiker, PRO of the SATF, said:
The South African government has been actively engaging itself with the Sri Lankan nation, much to its own deception of the Lankan government's true intentions of completing the genocide upon Tamils and claiming the De facto Tamil nation as their own. whenever questions are raised on the plight of Tamils or whenever Rajapaksa feels threatened over being overrun by western powers, he picks on Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an excuse to gain more time to remain in power. When UN HR commissioner, Ms Navi Pillay visited the country last year and placed a critical report on the country progress on delivering justice to war hit Tamils, Rajapaksa took to talking to the South African government over the commission. The workability of such a commission in Sri Lanka has already come under criticism from Tamil intellectuals. As for TNA (if you are meaning Tamil National Alliance), their leadership remains discredited, with Mr Sampanthan and Vigneswaran both criticized as being reduced to acting as puppets of both the Rajapaksa regime and India. That Wigneswaran, the chief minister of the NOrthern province is a handpicked man of India is no secret. Not just Sri Lanka, India too stands accused of complicity in genocide in Sri Lanka. There is solution for Sri Lankan only if western powers, except those complicit for their own geo-political needs, look beyond India for clarity and Justice in Sri Lanka. radhika.weekendleader@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe World and the Sri lankan regime are using the Eelam Tamil aspirations for a separate Nation status - as a reason for intervention for their concealed Geo Political Real Estate war in the name of War against Terror. Even after reputed Institutions have confirmed the 2009 War as a Genocidal War, Countries and UN are telling the Eelam Tamils to live within an Unified State Structure with out even raising the issue of Willingness from Eelam Tamils or Justice in the first place, But, If you refer recent History, South Sudan, Timor which met Genocidal Tragedy have ended as a Separate Nationhood.
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