Taking the opportunity to remember life in the Vanni before the assault by the Sri Lankan Army, she stated,
“The Vanni was above all a sanctuary. A sanctuary from the horrifying lawlessness of the Sri Lankan state and its military apparatus.”
“A military that runs amok today in the Tamil Eelam homeland, eroding and ultimately destroying every good it comes into contact with. “
In a stirring speech, she went on to praise the “the tens of thousands of men and women who in myriads of ways unflinchingly defended the people from Sri Lanka’s annihilation”, at a time when “every international institution abandoned its duty and walked away.”
She also noted that now, Sri Lanka “is recognized as the crucible where the credibility of international rule of law will be tested” and that “accounting for Sri Lanka’s crimes against humanity will indelibly shape the future of our system of international democracy”.
See the full text of her speech here.“This new dawning of understanding would not have been possible without those brave witnesses who have spoken out and without our friends across the world that have given their time and resources towards an accounting for 2009.”