Photo: Tamils protest in New York against Gotabaya Rajapaksa's visit to UN General Assembly
Photo Credit:Tamil Americans United PAC
In the midst of the 48th UN Human Rights Council session, six Tamil American organisations have signed a joint statement calling on the international community to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the crime of genocide and for an internationally conducted referendum.
The referdum, they note, would allow the Tamil people in the North-East to "find a democratic, peaceful, permanent, and political solution that meet Tamil's aspirations.
Further demands included for a repeal of Sri Lanka's sixth amendment to the constitution which was enacted in 1983 and makes it a criminal offence to advocate secession and establishing a separate state within Sri Lanka.
A further demand maintained the need for "an interim international protection mechanism in the north-eastern region of the island".
The statement was signed by Seetharam Sivam, President of the United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG), Meena Ilancheyan, President of Tamil Americans United Pac, Viswanathan Rudrakumaran, Prime Minsiter of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Rajendra Nadaraja, President of Ilankai Thamil Sangam, Ravi Subramaniam, President of the World Tamil Organisation, and Shanthini Jeyarajah, President of the North Carolinians for Peace.
The full statement details the historic abuses Tamils have suffered and the need for direct democratcy.
Read the full statement here.
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