British Tamil Forum is Puzzled
27 September 2008
Comment by
tamilnation.org
See
UK Foreign Minister Lord Mark Malloch Brown
meets British Tamils: Three Reports - One
Meeting... 17 September 2008;
Sathyam Commentary: Who is Lobbying Whom?;
and also
Report of 20 February 2008 by The International
Crisis Group co-chaired by Lord
Patten of Barnes, Former UK Cabinet Minister
and by Ambassador Thomas R Pickering, Former
U.S. Ambassador to the UN; and with Gareth
Evans, Former Foreign Minister of Australia as
President.
" Western governments’
policies on Sri Lanka should
consciously include attempts to open up
political space within their Tamil
communities for non-Tiger political voices.
Those governments with significant Tamil
populations should engage representative
civil society groups directly,
expressing sympathy for the
legitimate grievances of
minorities in Sri Lanka, while
challenging them to reject the LTTE’s
destructive politics and actively guarding
against any intimidation of anti-Tiger Tamil
groups...Peace supporters should consider
setting a deadline for renunciation of a
separate state, after which they would
actively pursue prosecutions of current LTTE
leaders for war crimes and crimes against
humanity.... ....Countries should develop
step-by-step benchmarks for progress
towards revoking the terrorist designation
–
in part to encourage Prabhakaran’s
removal..."
PRESS STATEMENT
The British Tamil Community is puzzled by
HM’s Government’s Statement on Sri Lanka
The British Tamil Community whilst appreciating the
government’s public acknowledgement of the current
dire humanitarian situation in the Tamil areas of
Sri Lanka also notes with great regret and
displeasure of some of the contents of the joint
statement issued yesterday, Friday 26 September
2008, by the Department for International
Development (DFID) Minister Rt. Hon Shahid Malik MP
and Rt. Hon Lord Malloch Brown – Foreign Minister
responsible for Africa, Asia and UN.
Instead of strongly condemning the Government of Sri
Lanka (GoSL) for the infliction of this current
humanitarian catastrophe and the military action
against the Tamil Nation for fundamentally a
political problem, the joint statement shares its
“acute concern”.
The British Tamil Community and the British Tamils
Forum have for a long period, by way of continuous
engagement with the British Political Establishments
and Civil Servants in various formal and informal
meetings, letters and through their respective
Parliamentarians have shared their strong feelings
and dissatisfaction of the lack of credible and
substantial action by HM’s Government against GoSL.
We regret the inability of the current Labour
Government and the Civil Servants to understand the
feelings of the British Tamils.
This opportunity missed to publicly condemn the GoSL
for its indiscriminate aerial bombardment of its own
citizens, the military action that has internally
displaced 200,000 to 230,000 (UN Estimation) Tamil
people, the expulsion of the UN Aid Workers and
International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO)
from the worst affected areas, other gross
violations of human rights such as abductions,
killings, restrictions of mobility of people and
restrictions placed on journalists has puzzled the
Tamil community around the world.
The Community feels confused by the joint statement
which acknowledges the apparent “recognition by GoSL
of its responsibility to provide humanitarian
assistance to civilians affected by the conflict and
its continued co-ordination with humanitarian
agencies”. This is in direct contradiction to the
recent statements made by the Sri Lankan Government
Agents of Mullaitivu and Kilinochi and by other
International Aid Agencies which clearly stated that
there are acute shortages of food, medical supplies,
shelter, drinking water, sanitation, fuel,
specialised staff including medical doctors and
nurses.
The British Tamil Community greatly appreciates the
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Secretary of
State for DFID for making the time to highlight the
concerns of the International Community to the
President of Sri Lanka. However, the indifference
that is reflected in the statement by avoiding to
condemn the GoSL for restricting free movement of
civilians within and out of Jaffna Peninsula where
the Sinhala Army is an occupying force, the
degrading restrictions laid on the Tamil Community
living in and around Colombo, restrictions placed on
Journalists to travel around Sri Lanka to report on
current security situation and human rights
violations and the inhuman treatment of internally
displaced people by restricting their mobility by
placing them in ‘detention centres’ (e.g. in Mannar)
in contravention of humanitarian practices, human
rights laws, UN Charters and Geneva Conventions.
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