(Mr Pregs Padaychee, secretary of the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice with Mr Kana Nirmalan of the British Tamils Forum at the Mount Edgecombe Mariammen Temple on Sunday, Oct 19 2014. Mr Nirmalan is visiting South Africa to promote the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils)
By Subry Govender
Tamils who escaped from Sri Lanka after suffering human rights violations and are now resident in South Africa have been asked to contact Tamil Diaspora organisations to relate their oppression at the hands of the authorities in the Indian Ocean island country.
Mr Pregs Padaychee, secretary of the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lanka, made the call this week on behalf of several Tamil Diaspora organisations.
"Organisations such as the British Tamil Forum and the Transnational Government of Tamil Eeelam(TGTE) in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Canada and Australia are collecting statements from those who have suffered human rights violations for submission to the UN Human Rights Commission(UNHRC). The UNHRC is investigating the violations that have taken place before and after the end of the civil war in 2009," said Mr Padaychee.
United Nations Human Rights Commission
"Since the end of the civil war, thousands of Tamils have fled Sri Lanka after being targeted by the security and other agencies. They were given refuge in many countries around the world and some of these people have settled in South Africa.
"We want those in South Africa to submit their statements which will then be handed over to the UNHCR special committee. You know the special committee was appointed by our own Dr Navi Pillay, when she was the UN Human Rights Commissioner.
"It's imperative that those in South Africa make their submissions because this will help the Special Committee members in their investigations," he said.
The Special Committee members are currently conducting their investigations from outside Sri Lanka because the Government of the President Mahindra Rajapakse has refused to allow the committee members to enter the country.
The UNHCR decided late last year to institute the investigations following reports that between 70 000 to 100 000 Tamils were butchered during the final stages of the civil war in 2009.
GENOCIDE IS CONTINUING AGAINST TAMILS
The Tamil Diaspora organisations claim that this genocide is still continuing in the Tamil homelands of the North and East of the country through colonisation by the military, disappearances of activists, arrests, detentions, killings and rapes.
The Tamils in Sri Lanka want the international community to create an opportunity for them to decide their own future through a referendum.
They would like to have the same opportunity that was recently granted to the people of Scotland to decide whether they wanted indpendence or remain part of the United Kingdom.
TAMILS WANT JUSTICE AND A REFERENDUM
They also want those responsible for the genocide to be brought before the International Court of Justice to face charges of human rights violations. The Tamils say that if the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, can be hauled before the ICC, then why are those who have been responsible for the slaughter of more than 100 000 Tamils should not be tried before the ICC.
(Sri Lankan Tamils in South Africa who want to make their statements should contact: tamilstatements@gmail.com or subrygovender@gmail.com)
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