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Sri Lankan govt has to face accountability for atrocities - Crusaders for Democracy

The Crusaders for Democracy party of former LTTE cadres has slammed the Sri Lankan prime minister’s remarks in Kilinochchi calling for Tamils to “forgive and forget”, saying the Sri Lankan government will have to face accountability for atrocities committed against the Tamil people.

In a statement, the party said Sinhalese politicians “would not dare come down even a little from the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist mentality which they have adopted at their core.”

“As J. R. Jayewardene said ”I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people now” in the eighties, the present leader of the country has also made remarks in Killinochchi that exasperate the Tamil people.”

The party said Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was trying to detract from the international pressure around reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, using “his diplomatic acumen to dilute the resolution brought against Sri Lanka in Geneva” all the while buttressing the Sinhala nationalist state.

“The Prime Minister gives a new explanation of forgiving and forgetting concerning war crimes in Kilinochchi while leaving aside the topics like the sluggish attitude of the government towards the release of political prisoners, not caring about the justice for the continuing issue of enforced disappeared, the problems of the people who could not recover from the effects of war, the sorrow of the people who are protesting for their lands from the middle of the road, and the never-ending plight of the Tamils who daydream about the constitution that claims to travel towards the solution. We want to remind him of the bitter truth that not even an insincere apology is given for the violence against the Tamils by his party-backed government since the 1970s,” the party said.

“We are living without any hope that the international community which ignored when hundreds of thousands of people were standing on the brink of death and crying for help, will conduct investigations about crimes against humanity or bring solutions after ten years.”

“Ranil Wickremesinghe’s assertion that if we are to continue speaking about war crimes, both sides can keep filing cases, raises a doubt within us that in which court such cases can be filed.”

“We would also like to say that we, Crusaders for Democracy are ready to face any court on behalf of our fighters who martyred themselves and made many sacrifices for our people if an arrangement is made to investigate the people associated with war crimes under an international mechanism.”

“Everyone should accept the fact that should such an occasion arise, the Sinhalese government will also be at a position to account for the things done to the Tamil people for the past five years such as the cultural degradation, economic encroachment, unlawful killings, rape and for the horrific genocide.”

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