Batticaloa Municipal Council passed a motion this week requesting the United Nations Human Rights Council to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court and to call for a referendum on independence with United Nations supervision.
The motion, brought before the council by Deputy Mayor K Sathiyaseelan, was passed with 29 votes in favour and 9 neutral votes on Thursday.
The motion was echoed this week by diaspora Tamils in Geneva who held a demonstration in front of the UNHRC in Geneva, demanding justice for genocide through an international mechanism, as well as a UN supervised referendum for an independent state of Tamil Eelam.
Hundreds protest in Kilinochchi on February 25, 2019
Tamil organisations across the North-East and diaspora have condemned the prospect of Sri Lanka being granted a further two years to implement the resolution, highlighting the state's long history of failure to provide justice for Tamils and arguing Sri Lanka had no genuine intention of implementation.
Families of the disappeared protesting in Vavuniya on January 31, 2019
Families across the North-East have in recent weeks protested against the UNHRC's decision to grant Sri Lanka more time to implement the co-sponsored resolution, arguing that nothing had been achieved so far.
A mass rally was held in Kilinochchi on February 25, the opening day of the Council's session, with hundreds of families of the disappeared demanding justice through an international mechanism for genocide.
Hundreds of businesses across the North held hartals in solidarity with the protests.
Read more:
Families of disappeared hold mass rally against resolution extension
Mass hartals as businesses express solidarity with families of disappeared
Families of disappeared in Amparai protest against UN extension (27 February 2019)
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