“Walk for Justice and Peace”
(Between Saturday the 29th October and Monday the 07th November 2011)
COULD YOU UNITE WITH US TO STOP THE GENOCIDE OF TAMILS?
The Tamils have been living on the Island of Ceylon for thousands of years before the birth of Christ. During the period from 600 BC to 1505 AD, parts of the Island were ruled separately and together from time to time by the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
The Tamil and the Sinhalese kingdoms were governed separately by the Portuguese from 1505 to 1656 AD, by the Dutch from 1658 to 1800 and by the British from 1800 to 1833. During the British rule from 1833 to 1948, the two kingdoms were amalgamated by the British for their administrative convenience and they failed to give the sovereignty of the Tamils back to the Tamils when they left in 1948.
The Tamil and the Sinhalese kingdoms were governed separately by the Portuguese from 1505 to 1656 AD, by the Dutch from 1658 to 1800 and by the British from 1800 to 1833. During the British rule from 1833 to 1948, the two kingdoms were amalgamated by the British for their administrative convenience and they failed to give the sovereignty of the Tamils back to the Tamils when they left in 1948.
Rights of the Tamils
Since then, the Tamils have been struggling to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development in the North‐Eastern province of Ceylon. They are demanding that they are allowed to exercise their civil rights, political rights, economic rights, social rights, cultural rights and collective rights freely, fully and continuously.
Non‐violent struggle
The Tamils tried to resolve the conflict from 1948 to 1978 through discussion, dialogue, proposals, agreements and pacts. The Sinhalese, however, made false promises, forgot the pledges which were made, abrogated pacts and staged anti‐Tamil pogroms.
Armed struggle
As non‐violent freedom struggle failed, armed freedom struggle commenced. Tamils fought against discrimination, ill-treatment, torture, structural violence, hegemony, chauvinism, state terrorism and genocide and established a de‐facto state. Thousands of Tamils sacrificed their lives to defend the Tamil state which the crime committing government of Sri Lanka dismantled in May 2009.
War crimes and crimes against humanity and peace
The Sri Lankan government and its security forces have been committing crimes against the Tamils. In Dublin on January 2010, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) investigated the crimes and found that the Sri Lankan Government is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the UK and the USA share responsibility for the breakdown of the peace process.
Ethnic cleansing (forced deportation and population transfer)
The government of Sri Lanka has been carrying out ethnic cleansing by means of murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extra‐judicial executions, rape and sexual assaults, confinement of the civilian population in ghetto areas, forcible removal, displacement and deportation of the Tamil civilian population, deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civilian areas, and wanton destruction of property.
Genocide of Tamils (systematic and intentional mass murder)
More than 200,000 Tamils were murdered by the government of Sri Lanka in order to rid the land of Tamils. Over one million Tamils immigrated. 250,000 Tamils are internally displaced. 300,000 Tamils are living as refugees globally. 96,000 Tamils are widowed. 30,000 Tamils are disabled. Property of the Tamils worth millions of pounds has been destroyed. Thousands of people have been made homeless and destitute. Furthermore, there has been continuing destruction of the remaining Tamils.
Investigation of genocide
Since 1956 to‐date, the Tamils have been killed with impunity. The Sri Lankan government should be charged with the crimes of genocide. Full accountability should be established for the crimes under international law. Finally, the perpetrators must be brought to justice and the Tamils must be saved. To‐date the demands of the UN, EU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group and other human rights organisations to stop the HR violations against the Tamils have been ignored by the government of Sri Lanka.
May we request you to write to the British Prime Minister and the foreign Minister to take effective actions to:
a. stop the genocide of the Tamils
b. Bring the perpetrators to justice
c. end the Sinhalese military rule in Tamil Eelam
d. hold a referendum under the auspices of an international authority for the Tamil nation to ask whether an independent state is a remedial measure for the act of genocide
e. free the Tamils.
If you want this campaign to become a great success, then you ought to join us in thecampaign to create the success, you want to see. Please join us to bring the perpetrators to justice in the International Criminal Court.
"Walk for Justice and Peace from Manchester to London"
Website: http://forjusticeandpeace.org
THANK YOU.
Jeyashanker Murugiah
Email: j.murugiah@tgte.org
S.Yogi
Coodinator
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