British MPs and local councillors of the London constituency Ilford North met with members of the Tamil community today to discuss the issue of seeking ‘Justice for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.'

Left to Right: Jim Murphy, Wes Streeting & Mike Gapes                                                     (Photo:John Howard)

Labour’s candidate for Ilford North, Wes Streeting chaired the event with local councillor T Jeyaranjan, the Shadow Secretary for International Development , Jim Murphy and Ilford South MP, Mike Gapes joining his panel.

Opening the event, Mike Gapes outlined that the continued subjugation of Tamils by the Sinhala majority had been the main cause of the ethnic conflict which ended with the brutal atrocities committed against Tamil civilians. Gapes went on to stress that recent documentaries and credible reports proved that an international investigation into war crimes was required as the Sri Lankan government did not have the capacity to perform their own. Arguing that calls for an international investigation should be immediate Gapes said,

“Sri Lanka do not deserve to be given yet more time to perform an independent inquiry by March.”

The United States has released a statement calling on Sri Lanka to hold independent and credible investigations into reported human rights abuses, adding that, where relevant, prosecutions should also be taking place.

In a statement marking the end of US Ambassador at large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp’s visit to the island, the United States said he had heard about the “continuing desire for reconciliation, justice and accountability”.

It went on to add,

The Sinhalese Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has said that the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka does not support the allegations made by Tamil bishops to US officials last week.

Speaking to The Island, Cardinal Ranjith said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka would not endorse the claims made by Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph and the Bishop of Jaffna Thomas Soundranayagam, saying those were the personal opinions of the Tamil bishops.

"The current political situation gives the military an ever-greater concentration of power. The heavy militarization of the north remains one of the main obstacles to the region’s recovery since the Sri Lankan military has assumed an economic role in not only overseeing but also approving development efforts. The military’s freedom of action represents a potent example of socioeconomic deprivation of a specific group based on the treatment of Tamils as second-class citizens by the Sri Lankan government.

Furthermore, the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 has done little to address the concerns and fears of the Tamils as they relate to Sinhalese domination. Instead of forming more inclusive relationships with the minority, the Sinhalese government has used this transitional period to reassert Sinhalese power. Additionally, police and military forces, as well as Sinhalese militias, continue to resort violence, including intimidation, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, and even murder to restrain any opposition to the government.

The Island newspaper has reported that the US government recommended the Sri Lankan government to acquire cluster bombs, to strengthen the army against the LTTE.