Complaints have been made to the Court of Appeal against 33 Tamil councillors in the Northern and Eastern provinces for a letter to the UN High Commissioner condemning the genocide of Tamils by Sinhala state forces, reports the Island.
Petitioners, including P.G. Ravindra Nirosha of Nugegoda as well as others, complained to Court of Appeal that the IGP and Attorney General had failed to take action against the councillors under Provision 120 of the Penal Code.
According to the Island, the petitioners accused the Tamil councillors of making "false claims" that "Sinhalese settlements are being set up in Tamil areas".
The letter, dated 17 August 2014 and signed by 33 Tamil councillors across the North and East, was addressed to the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, and called on the UN to investigate the crime of genocide.
“The Tamil people strongly believe that they have been, and continued to be subjected to Genocide by Sri Lanka. The Tamils were massacred in groups, their temples and churches were bombed, and their iconic Jaffna Public Library was burnt down in 1981 with its collection of largest oldest priceless irreplaceable Tamil manuscripts. Systematic Sinhalese settlements and demographic changes with the intent to destroy the Tamil Nation, are taking place. We request the OHCHR investigative team to look into the pattern of all the atrocities against the Tamil people, and to determine if Genocide has taken place," the letter read.
See related article: Northern and Eastern Provincial Council members call for UN to investigate genocide (18 Aug 2014)
See full text of letter here.
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