Rallying outside Germany’s Foreign Office, approximately 300-400 German Tamils demanded that their government reject a “friendly” resolution with Sri Lanka at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session and hold the Rajapaksa regime accountable for the war crimes committed.

Whilst this rally took place Families of the Disappeared in Jaffna and Vavuniya defied court bans to launch protests and hunger strikes demanding to know what happened to their loved ones. These protests are on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day which protesters have referred to as a “black day”.

Tamils across the North-East are participating in a walk for justice from "‘Pottuvil to Polikandi" to demand that the United Nations and international community heed Tamil calls for justice and accountability. 

The march has been endorsed by all Tamil political parties, as well as by Tamil and Muslim civil society organisations and Muslim leaders. The campaign has been met with a brutal crackdown from the Sri Lankan state, with troops and police disrupting and threatening marchers

Read more here: Pottuvil to Polikandi - Tamils brave crackdown to begin marching length of homeland

During the protests in Germany, demonstrators handed a petition with over 58 signatures from various organisations to the government. Demonstrators also held up signs which highlighted the findings from the UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s latest report.

“UN reports Sri Lanka on the way to the recurrence of serious human rights violations”.

Other protesters demanded that the government reject a “consensus resolution” at the upcoming Human Rights Council Session. This follows numerous human rights organisations maintaining that such a resolution would do nothing.

“No friendly resolution resolved actions against the Government”

Other signs demanded that the German Government act to end Sri Lanka’s long-running impunity for war crimes:

“We promote the accountability of the Sri Lankan Government for War Crimes”.