16:16 CET, second lead 19:28 CET - further details
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council's General Debate currently underway, an unprecedented number of NGOs condemned what they described as the past and on-going genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan state, which included disappearances, sexual violence and murder.
Pointing to the recent arrests of activists, NGOs called for the immediate release of Balendran Jeyakumari, Ruki Fernando, and Father Praveen Mahesan detained in Kilinochchi by Sri Lankan security forces.
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A representative of International Educational Development, Fondation Danielle Mitter and France-Libertes and the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, said,
"Engaged since 1983, after the Commission’s resolution in 1987, the UN bodies simply ignored the ongoing atrocities until the genocidal conclusion of the armed conflict in May 2009. We are now all suffering the burden of having failed to act to prevent genocide and mass atrocities until too late.
The Council now has before it a third Resolution on this matter, which is appropriately stronger than the past two. States need to know that voting against this resolution may very well unleash harsher persecution of the Tamils. No government can possibly believe that Sri Lankan authorities will properly investigate the events of the war, or that the Sinhala majority will ever afford the Tamil people full rights absent concerted international action."
Speaking as a representative of the Collectif des Femmes Africaines du Hainaut (CFAH), the NPC Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan said,
"We welcome the focus on mass atrocity crimes by this [March] assembly."
"Following the genocidal war in the island, more than 146,000 Tamil people are still unaccounted for. The UN has said that tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed in 2009.
The 60-yar-old genocide is still going on. We are subjected to cultural genocide, demographic genocide and structural genocide.
The democratic Northern Provincial Council has passed as important resolution demanding international investigation on situation akin to genocide.
The Tamil Nadu State assembly in India has passed resolutions demanding independent international investigations into all crimes, including genocide against Tamils. The Tamil Diaspora has also been demanding the same.
As the victims of a continued genocide, we are disappointed with the resolutions being tabled at this respected assembly, year after year, failing to address the root-problem, which is genocide." (Find full text here).
A representative of Canners International Permanent Committee said,
"A genocide took place, and continues to take place in Sri Lanka against the Tamil people. Sinhala Buddhist majority claim that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country.Speaking in Tamil, as a representative of another NGO, NPC Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, said,
There is a humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka where the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka in the island's North and East, are facing annihilation at the hands of the Sinhalese dominated government. The main proponents of the ethno-religious chauvinism are firstly Sinhalese politicians across the entire political spectrum who have done so to gain the support of the Sinhala Buddhist majority, and remain in power. And secondly, Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan armed force.
Sri Lanka's history since its independence in 1948 clearly demonstrates that all Sri Lankan governments were driven by the intent to destroy the identity of Tamils as a nation. As these actions were underpinned by intent, they clearly fall within the definition of genocide, as is stipulated by the 1948 UN Convention on genocide.
There is mounting evidence that torture, disappearances and rape continue to occur. According to the US State Department's Country report for 2012, attacks and harassment of civil society activists, persons viewed as LTTE sympathisers and journalists, continue unabated."
(Excerpts of UNHRC translation below, full text here. )
"After May 2009, genocide has intensified as a policy in different forms. The Sri Lankan military which is made of Sinhalese, occupies our homeland. The numbers of military occupying our homeland has increased year after year. We don't have rights to our land, our land is taken away from us by the Sri Lankan military and Sinhalese settlers. The occupation there makes it not safe for women and girls. Rape and sexual violence occurs regularly."
"Even as I speak today two prominent activists, Father Praveen and Ruki Fernando who went to Kilinochchi to voice the rights of a Tamil mother and daughter have been put under arrest by the Sri Lankan state and the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act."
"The Sri Lankan state is incapable of investigating itself. It's a genocidal state, it cannot conduct an inquiry itself. There must be a UN, international independent mechanism into the genocide. There should also be a mechanism to halt the genocide ongoing."
A representative of Franciscans International, said,
"Father Praveen and Mr. Ruki Fernando were arrested on Sunday 16th March 2014 by the Terrorism Investigation Division officials in Kilinochchi Northern Sri Lanka."Nimalka Fernando from IMADR told the Council,
"Both of them were doing fact finding missions in Tharmapuram near Kilinochchi, visiting people who had lost families during the war, and investigating detention of Ms. Balendran Jeyakumari and her 13 year old daughter Vipoosika."
"We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately release Mr. Ruki Fernando, Father Praveen Mahesan and Ms. Balendran Jeyakumari, and while they continued to be detained, to ensure their security and physical integrity."
"Since there is no justifiable reason for their arrest and detention, we demand their immediate release. Their detention is a plot to silence us."
"High level government officials in Sri Lanka including the president continue to make negative statements about the UN human rights mechanism, and portray those cooperating with the UN as traitors, terrorists and working against the country. A state controlled radio station aired a programme where a number of listeners openly called for the elimination of human rights defenders, including myself."
"Mr President, the Human Rights Council has our lives and our rights in its hands."