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Marking 2,126 days of consecutive protest, Tamil Families of the Disappeared in Vavuniya spoke out against the remarks of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan who reportedly stated during the All Party Conference (APC), "we know you killed all disappearances”.
"How does Sampanthan know that all were killed? Does he have proof? If he believes, let him show us evidence" a demonstrator told reporters. Samantha's remarks echo that of Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe who long has been distrusted by the Tamil community, given his repeated statements that those who disappeared were "most probably dead". As Tamil politicians met with political operatives during the representatives of the Families of the Disappeared protested against them and expressed their anger by throwing tomatoes at photos of them.
Representatives of the demonstration maintained that Tamil politicians had nothing to gain by speaking with the Sri Lankan government and urged them to make their appeal to the international community instead.
Members of protest in Vavuniya argued that whilst "Vanni was being captured by the Sinhalese and all the Tamils slaughtered in Mullivaikkal", "Sampanthan and the other TNA MPs were hiding in Chennai". They further alleged that the TNA does not support an international investigation because of their own complicity in war crimes.
Speaking with the Tamil Guardian, TNA MP MA Sumanthiran has stressed the need for an international investigation into war crimes and the need for Sri Lanka to be referred to the ICC.
Read more here: ‘Steps must be towards an ICC referral’ - MA Sumanthiran speaks with Tamil Guardian
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