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united kingdom
& the Struggle for Tamil Eelam
International Federation of Tamils to
Rt.Hon. John Major,
United Kingdom Prime Minister
24 July 1993
Rt.Hon John Major
Prime Minister,
Downing Street,
London W1
Rt.Hon Prime Minister,
Remembering the July ’83 violence against
the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka
On this Tenth Anniversary of the July
’83 genocidal attack on the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka, we write to
seek your support for the call made by 15 non governmental human rights organisations, in
February this year, for international recognition of the Tamil right to self
determination.
Ten years ago, the International Commission of Jurists condemned the
July ’83 violence against the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka and said:
"The evidence points clearly to the conclusion that the violence of
the Sinhala rioters on the Tamils amounted to acts of genocide.’’
In March 1984, the late Paul Sieghart Q.C , Chairman of British Justice
commented, after a mission to Sri Lanka:
"( The July ’83 violence) was not a spontaneous upsurge of
communal hatred among the Sinhala people - nor was it, as has been suggested in some
quarters, a popular response to the killing of 13 soldiers in an ambush by Tamil Tigers on
the previous day, which was not even reported in the newspapers until after the riots
began. It was a series of deliberate acts, executed in accordance with a concerted plan,
conceived and organised well in advance. But who were the planners?..."
In the United Kingdom in July 1984, on the first anniversary of the July
’83 genocidal attack, David Alton MP, Paddy Ashdown MP, Norman Atkinson MP, Tony Banks
MP, Prof John Barret, Kevin Barron MP, Alan Beith MP, Tony Benn MP, Gerry Berningham M.P.,
Prof Tom Bottomore, Sydney Bidwell MP, Malcolm Bruce MP, Dale Campbell-Savours MP, Dennis
Canavan MP, Alex Carlile MP, Tom Clarke MP, Bob Clay MP, Anne Clwyd MP, Harry Cohan MP,
Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ron Davis MP, Eric Deakins MP, Alf Dubs MP, Professor Michael Dummet,
Derek Fatchett MP, Mark Fisher MP, Martin Flannery MP, Roy Hattersley MP, Michael Foot MP,
Simon W.H. Hughes MP, Lord Jenkins, Russel Johnston MP, Sir David Lane, Robert Kilroy Silk
MP, Archy Kirkwood MP, Ted Knight, Terry Lewis MP, Bob Litherland MP, Ken Livingstone,
Tony Lloyd MP, Eddie Loyden MP, Max Madden MP, Joan Maynard MP, Willie McKelvy MP, Bill
Michie MP, Dr.Paul Noone, Bob Parry MP, Alan Roberts MP, Ernie Roberts MP, Allan Rogers
MP, Aubrey Rose, Ernie Ross MP, Steven Ross MP, Clare Short MP, Dennis Skinner MP, Prof
Peter Townsend, Jim Wallace MP, Gareth Wardell MP, Dafydd Wigley MP and many others,
called for an international commission of inquiry into the July 1983 violence against the
Tamils, and declared in the Guardian:
"(In July 1983)...(Tamils) were beaten, hacked and burnt to death
in a frenzy of racial hatred ... Their houses and businesses were selectively looted and
destroyed. The Sri Lankan government has admitted that the violence was pre planned and
well organised and that even sections of the security forces joined in the attack against
the Tamils. 53 Tamil detainees held in a maximum security prison were brutally killed on
July 25th and July 27th. Yet to date no impartial inquiry into these violent attacks has
taken place... Amnesty International (AI) and the International Commission of Jurists
(ICJ) have also reported on a number of cases of torture and death in custody of persons
detained incommunicado for periods upto 18 months under the Sri Lankan Prevention of
Terrorism Act. ‘No legislation conferring remotely comparable powers is in force in
any other free democracy... such a provision is an ugly blot on the statute book of any
civilised country’(ICJ). The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution has virtually
disenfranchised the country’s 3 million Tamils by reason of the ban imposed on their
political parties. This Amendment according to the ICJ, ‘constitutes a clear
violation by Sri Lanka of its obligations in international law’... We are of the
opinion:
* that an impartial international commission should be set up to inquire
into the violence against the Tamils in July 1983 including the killing of 53 Tamil
detainees held in custody by the government...
*that the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be repealed...
* that the use of torture and incommunicado detention in violation of
Sri Lanka’s obligations under International Covenants should be discontinued...
* that the Sri Lankan government should repeal the Sixth Amendment to
the Constitution and take meaningful steps to arrive at a political solution... by the
granting of the legitimate rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka."
In March 1986, Senator A.L.Missen, then Chairman of the Australian
Parliamentary Group of Amnesty International declared in the Australian Senate:
"Some 6000 Tamils have been killed altogether in the last few
years...These events are not accidental. It can be seen that they are the result of a
deliberate policy on the part of the Sri Lankan government...Democracy in Sri Lanka does
not exist in any real sense. The democracy of Sri Lanka has been described in the
following terms, terms which are a fair and accurate description:
‘The reluctance to hold general elections, the muzzling of the
opposition press, the continued reliance on extraordinary powers unknown to a free
democracy, arbitrary detention without access to lawyers or relations, torture of
detainees on a systematic basis, the intimidation of the judiciary by the executive, the
disenfranchisement of the opposition, an executive President who holds undated letters of
resignation from members of the legislature, an elected President who publicly declares
his lack of care for the lives or opinion of a section of his electorate, and the
continued subjugation of the Tamil people by a permanent Sinhala majority, within the
confines of an unitary constitutional frame, constitute the reality of
‘democracy’, Sri Lankan style.’"
Today, ten years after the July ’83 genocidal attack, no inquiry,
leave alone an impartial one, has been held into the admittedly planned violence against
the Tamil people. The Prevention of Terrorism Act
remains an ugly blot on Sri Lanka’s statute book and the Sixth Amendment to the Sri
Lanka Constitution continues in force, unrepealed.
The gross consistent and continuing violations of the rights of the
Tamil people, by the Sri Lankan government and its agencies, have been well documented by
innumerable reports of human rights organisations and independent observers of the Sri
Lankan scene and we send you herewith a publication which brings together extracts from
some of these reports. The record shows:
that the attack on the human rights of the Tamil people commenced more
than forty years ago;
that the attack was initially resisted by the Tamil people by non
violent means together with a parliamentary campaign for a federal constitution;
that this non violent resistance was met with planned Sinhala violence
directed to subjugate the Tamil people to the will of a permanent Sinhala majority within
the confines of an unitary state;
that the armed resistance of the Tamil
people arose as a defence against decades of oppressive rule by an alien Sinhala
majority;
that international law recognises that the armed resistance of the Tamil
people is lawful and just;
that Sri Lanka has committed systematic violations of the humanitarian
law of armed conflict in its effort to quell the armed resistance of the Tamil people;
that Sri Lanka’s sustained attack on the Tamil people amounts to
genocide;
that international law recognises the combatant status of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam who today lead the struggle of the Tamil people for national self
determination ;
that the territorial integrity of the Tamil homeland continues to be
defended by the Tamil people against the planned and determined attacks of the Sinhala
dominated Sri Lanka government; and
that Sri Lanka’s continued refusal to recognise the claim of the
Tamil people to the right to self determination constitutes a continuing breach by Sri
Lanka of a peremptory norm of international law.
Here, may we add that the alleged sporadic violations of the
humanitarian law of armed conflict by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, though not to
be condoned, cannot take away from the legitimacy of the armed struggle that it leads.
Moreover due to the asymmetric nature of such armed conflicts, the government controls the
state machinery and all that goes with it, including the administration of justice,
whereas the other party to the armed conflict is significantly worse off in terms of
material resources at its command. We note that in a statement in 1992, the International
Secretariat of the LTTE has reiterated the commitment of the LTTE to securing the rule of
law in the Tamil homeland and declared:
‘‘ In so far as the alleged violations of human rights
in areas within the control of the LTTE are concerned, we would like to point out, at the
outset, that whilst it is true that the LTTE is in control of territory in the Northeast,
the extent and nature of that control is not the same in all parts of the
Northeast.’’
‘‘ In some areas, the control exercised by the LTTE is not
exclusive and in certain areas, control changes from day to night - and sometimes from day
to day. Further, even in those areas within the control of the LTTE, the character of the
control exercised by a guerilla organisation, which is in the process of establishing an
administrative structure, cannot be equated to the control exercised in a well established
state structure, such as Sri Lankan state, in areas within the latter’s
control.’’
‘‘The reality on the ground is that the lawful armed struggle
of the Tamil people is taking place under conditions of unbelievable hardship. On the one
hand the Sri Lanka Army seeks to occupy the Tamil homeland by launching offensive
operations and planned massacres of civilians, which has assumed genocidal proportions.
The Air Force continues with its indiscriminate
bombardment.
On the other hand, an economic blockade has been imposed to secure
military ends. Again, emergency regulations which prohibit the transport of ‘soya
based food, sweets and confectionery’ to LTTE controlled areas on the ground that
such items are ‘capable of being used in a manner harmful to national security’
have been stringently enforced. The conclusion is inescapable that the Sri Lanka
Government is engaged in a determined effort to starve out the Tamil people and bend them
to its will.’’
‘‘Well armed Sinhala settlers have been brought into border
areas and housed in fortified settlements. Sinhala and Muslim ‘Home Guards’ have
been trained and armed by the Government and function as a para military force. The
attacks by the LTTE on these para military forces and armed settlers are then sometimes
falsely described as attacks on ‘civilians’. Some Tamil groups are actively
engaged along with the Government forces and have been sent to infiltrate the areas within
LTTE control and gather intelligence and it has become necessary to apprehend such
spies.’’
‘‘However, despite these conditions of hardship, in several
areas the LTTE has succeeded in establishing a stable civil administration.. The rule of
law will be secured in the Tamil homeland.The LTTE has taken steps to ensure that the
fundamental principles of natural justice are followed in all matters relating to
punishment... In 1988, the LTTE pledged to abide by the Geneva Conventions relating to
armed conflict, and its Additional Protocols. The LTTE is mindful of its obligations as a
combatant in an armed conflict which has won recognition in international law and the LTTE
does recognise the importance of acting, at all times, in accordance with the humanitarian
law of armed conflict. It has taken care to instruct its cadres accordingly and breaches
in this regard are inquired into and suitable punishment meted out.’’
An year ago in February 1992, a
Canadian Human Rights Mission led by the Very Rev Dr. Lois Wilson, immediate past
President of the World Council of Churches,and including Mr. Pierre Duquette, Legal
Counsel to the former Minister of State for Immigration, Gerry Weiner; Ms. Marian Botsford
Fraser, member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre of International PEN; Ms.
Beryl Gaffney, M.P. and Liberal Party critic for Human rights; Dr.Kenneth Kuhn, Executive
Director of the Lutheran’s Church Division for Church and Society; Mr.Peter McCreath,
M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Finance and Privatisation ; Mr.
Svend Robinson,M.P., and New Democratic party spokesperson on External Affairs and
International Human Rights; and Dr.Stephen Toope, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and
Research at the Faculty of Law at the University of McGill with Robin Gibson, Chairperson
of the Consultative Committee on Human Rights of the Canadian Council of Churches as
Secretary reported, after a visit to Sri Lanka:
‘‘Human rights violations continue to occur in Sri Lanka at an
alarming rate... Most distressing was the failure of the government to acknowledge the
level of human rights abuses occurring in the country...It was apparent to team members
that many Tamils are genuinely grateful for the protection provided to them by the
LTTE...’’
Again in August 1992, at the
44th Sessions of the Sub Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities at Geneva, twenty Non Governmental Organisations including the
International Commission of Jurists, the American Association of Jurists, and the Arab
Organisation for Human Rights declared:
‘‘The Sub-Commission first adopted a resolution on
Sri Lanka in 1984 following extensive testimony regarding communal violence against the
Tamils. The Commission on Human Rights has also responded, most notably in its resolution
1987/61 in which it called upon the parties to the conflict to comply with humanitarian
norms. The Commission rapporteurs on torture and summary execution as well as the Working
Group on Disappearances have also been compelled to address the grave situation in Sri
Lanka annually for a number of years. In 1991 the Working group visited Sri Lanka, and in
UN Doc. E/CN 4/1992/18/ Add.1 reported truly alarming statistics on disappearances in all
parts of the country.’’
‘‘As a result of this evidence, and also in response to
compelling evidence of widespread humanitarian law violations, on 27 February 1992 the
Commission read out a statement of "serious concern". The statement once again
called upon all parties "to respect fully the universally accepted rules of
humanitarian law" and urged negotiations "based on the principles of human
rights and fundamental freedoms, leading to a durable peace in the north and east of the
country."
‘‘Regrettably, the Sri Lankan government has not seriously
responded to the many proposals for cease-fire and peace talks, even when presented by
other concerned governments. We are disappointed at the recent rejection by the Sri Lankan
government of the Canadian Human Rights Mission, composed of members of Parliament,
religious leaders, a lawyer and a journalist as a mediating body. This was followed by a
failure to respond to an offer by the government of Sweden to mediate.... ’’
More recently, a few months ago, in February 1993, at the 49th Sessions of the UN
Human Rights Commission in Geneva, 15 non governmental organisations (NGOs) including
Pax Christie International, the International League for the Rights and Liberation of
Peoples, Centre Europe Tiers Monde, International Educational Development, the
International Organisation for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and
the World Confederation of Labour, expressed their deep and grave concern at the
continuing armed conflict in the island and declared that
*"any meaningful attempt to resolve the conflict should address its
underlying causes and recognise that the armed struggle of the Tamil people for self
determination, arose as a response to decades of an ever widening and deepening oppression
by a permanent Sinhala majority, within the confines of an unitary Sri Lankan state";
and further that
*"there is an urgent need for the international community to
recognise that the Tamil population in the North - East of the island of Sri Lanka are a
‘people’ with the right to freely choose their political status."
We believe that your Government’s open support for the views expressed by these 15 NGOs
together with the support of other influential sections of international opinion will pave
the way for the resolution of a conflict which has taken an increasingly heavy toll in
human lives and suffering during the past ten years and more. On this tenth anniversary of
the July ’83 genocidal attack on the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka, we seek
your support for the call made by 15 non governmental human rights organisations for
international recognition of the Tamil right to self determination.
Yours sincerely,
Secretary,
International Federation of Tamils
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