Thirty-three members of the Northern and Eastern Provincial Council have written to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), calling on the investigative team to examine the mass killings of Tamils from at least 1974 onwards and explore the charge of genocide against the Sri Lankan state.
In a letter sent to the OHCHR offices in Geneva, the provincial council members stated that “there were several major incidents of massacres of Tamils” and that “none of them were properly investigated by the Sri Lankan government.”
The letter went on to add,
“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.”
Addressing the outgoing United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, the council members also stated,
“If the Government of Sri Lanka continues to reject entry for the OHCHR investigative team, we request that the team considers conducting its investigation in the State of Tamil Nadu, India.”
See the full text of the letter and signatories here.
The UN High Commissioner had previously stated that a thorough and credible investigation could be carried out without access to the island, noting there was a “wealth of information” outside.
See our earlier posts: Access to Sri Lanka not necessary for investigation says UN Human Right Chief (11 August 2014)
Call for submissions as 'OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka' begins (05 August 2014)
Jaya urges Modi to ensure visas are granted to UN inquiry team (24 July 2014)
India should support UN inquiry on Sri Lanka urges Tamil Nadu delegation (16 July 2014)
Chennai should be a base for UN inquiry team says BJP ally (14 July 2014)
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