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Mainstream, VOL XLIX, No 42, October 8, 2011

Forum Against War Crimes and Genocide Flays Rajapaksa Government’s Sri Lankan Model of State Terrorism

Saturday 8 October 2011

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DOCUMENT

The following is a recent statement issued by the Forum Against War Crimes and Genocide.

About the Forum

The Forum against War Crimes and Genocide is a platform for human rights activists/organisations and other concerned civil society organisations to share their concerns, debate and campaign against “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” in Sri Lanka. Prof G. Hargopal is its chairperson, This Forum was initiated with a view to holding discussions the “UN Expert Panel Report on Accountability in Sri Lanka” and Report of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, Dublin (PPT). The necessity of a forum against war crimes and genocide has been recognised unanimously given the growing inclination of several states attempting to apply the Sri Lankan model to suppress the voices of minorities and ethnic nationalities around the world. Sri Lankan leaders advocate that any country faced with terrorism and insurgencies should follow the Sri Lanka model.

War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide in Sri Lanka

THE military conflict between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in May 2009 had left several thousands of people (Tamil civilians) dead and resulted in the confinement of three hundred thousand Tamil civilians in the Army-controlled camps. The nature and conduct of this war against the LTTE was not restricted to the imagination of war as between two armed forces. It revealed in the conduct of the war and celebrations of the victory by the Sri Lankan State and Sinhala civil society that this wass a war against the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka not a “War on Terror”, as claimed by the Sri Lankan Government. The Sri Lankan State and its armed forces had demonstrated all the components of a strategy of final solution to end the ethnic question in Sri Lanka. The routine bombings inside the civilian areas, including the schools and hospitals, extraordinary number of civilian deaths inside the ‘No-Fire Zones’ declared by the government, and finally the internment of three hundred thousand Tamil civilians inside the camps reveal a premeditated policy strategy and military conduct of this war.

The Times (London) revealed that the aerial photographs, official documents, witness accounts and expert testimony tell a story of the Sri Lankan Government’s fierce barrage of three weeks of constant shelling inside the five-kilometre area where 300,000 Tamil civilians were left stranded. Amnesty International also confirmed that “the Sri Lankan armed forces launched indiscriminate attacks with artillery on areas densely populated by civilians. Hospitals were shelled, resulting in death and injuries among patients and the staff.” The people in the camps were kept like cattle in the camps without any basic hygiene and living amenities. Sri Lanka’s then Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva observed that the “law of the country does not show any interest in these IDPs. I openly say this. The authorities can penalise me for telling this. I visited relief villages where Vani IDP families are sheltered. I cannot explain their suffering and grief in words. It is an utter lie if we continue to say that there is only one race and no majority or minority in this country.” (Cited in The Hindu, Chennai edition, June 6, 2009)

There is a growing evidence of genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. While the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (Dublin Tribunal) and UN Advisory Panel’s Report have recognised the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Sri Lankan Government, the consideration of these acts as genocide is a matter of technical debate. The UN Advisory Panel and most human rights advocates agree that the means and methods employed by the Sri Lankan Government in the name of counter-terrorism amounts to more than the war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Sri Lankan Government responded to the UN report by saying that the recommendations of the international investigation of war crimes would hamper the ongoing reconciliation in the island. The continuation of the State Emergency even two years after the end of war, the militarised civil administration and the ongoing Sinhalese settlement in the Northern part of the island does not augment the so-called ‘reconciliation process’ in the island.

“Sri Lankan Model” of State Terrorism

CHINA and Russia have come out openly in support of the Sri Lankan Government and against the call for an international war crimes’ probe. The Indian Government remains a silent witness to the sufferings of the Tamils after supporting the military efforts of the Sri Lankan Government. Is this a final solution for the Tamils in the island-nation? How should we respond to the acts of state terrorism and the ongoing genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka?’ How many more innocent lives should be sacrified before the global community recognises the genocide in Sri Lanka? How do we ensure the accountability of the Sri Lankan state for its acts of oppression, State terrorism and genocide of the ethnic Tamils? Numerous states with insurgencies have begun to look at Sri Lanka as a model. There is growing evidence about Sri Lanka becoming a model for countries facing ethnic conflict and political resistance. This dangerous precedent should be challenged. About 44 nations, including India, participated in a seminar titled “Defeating Terrorism: Sri Lankan Experience” in Colombo conducted by the Sri Lankan Army in June 2011. The Forum against War Crimes and Genocide appeals to all democratic and progressive forces in the country to join and support this civil society initiative in addressing this political and humanitarian crisis not only in Sri Lanka but also help to prevent its occurrence anywhere in the world. Public awareness across the nation about the genocide of Tamils is inevitable and it can be made through the civil societies and human rights activists.

Forum’s Demands

To the United Nation and International Community:

• The United Nations (UN) and the International Civil Society(ICS) should seek and insist on an independent, impartial, international investigation into the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan Government and its authorities.

• The UN and ICS should demand and ensure that the Sri Lankan state allows free access to the media and international humanitarian agencies.

To the Indian Government and the Democratic Forces in India:

• We appeal to all the democratic forces in India to pressurise the Indian Government to seek and support an independent and impartial investigation into the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan Government. We also demand that the Indian Government publish a white paper on its foreign policy with Sri Lanka and the military assistance provided to Sri Lanka since the UPA Government was sworn into power in 2004.

• We demand the Indian Government accept and act upon the Resolution made in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on June 8 to approach the UN to declare as “war criminals” those who are responsible for killing thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka and also join with the international community to impose economic sanctions on Colombo.

To the Tamil Nadu Government:

• The newly elected Tamil Nadu Government formed by the AIADMK, as committed by its leadership during the election campaign, should pass a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly condemning the war crimes and genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The State Government should also seek and support an international legal trial against the Sri Lankan Government and its authorities for their role in war crimes, crimes against humanity and the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Forum Against War Crimes and Genocide appeals to all democratic and progressive forces in the country to join and support this civil society initiative in addressing the political and humanitarian crisis not only in Sri Lanka but also help to prevent its occurrence anywhere in the world. Public awareness across the nation about the genocide of Tamils is inevitable and it can be made through the civil societies and human rights activists.

[The Forum Against War Crimes and Genocide’s e-mail is: forumwcg@gmail.com and its website is:

www.warcrimesandgenocide.org]

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