Families of the disappeared in Vavuniya this week urged Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court as they held a token fast in tribute to the tens of thousands massacred by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009.
Recalling how they handed over their children to the military in Mullivaikkal, mothers wept demanding the government provide answers as to their whereabouts.
In a petition to the UN, the families, who have been protesting for over 800 days, said:
"It has been ten difficult years. Sri Lanka has been defiant about telling the truth about these missing children and it has insisted that it has no idea what happened to the missing Tamils, despite evidence to the contrary. There are more than 25,000 Tamils missing."
"Sri Lanka is a country that offers immunity to every criminal who abused or killed the Tamils. It is no longer possible to wait for Sri Lanka or even for a UNHRC resolution to find our missing children."
"Tamils have been suffering since the end of the war. The Tamils simply cannot trust the Sinhalese who massacred over 145,000 innocent Tamils in May 2009. The Sri Lankan Army is still occupying the Tamils’ homes, land, and farms. Beyond that, the Sri Lankan army is raping Tamil women and men and is maintaining sex slave camps in Sri Lanka. Many Tamils continue to be taken by the Sri Lankan army under the country's draconian anti-terrorism law."
"We urgently ask you and the United Nations to make arrangements to refer the Sri Lankan war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to help bring about justice for the Tamils and to find our missing children. Time is running out."
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