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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
[see also
On 10th Anniversary of Genocide'83 - London Demonstration &
Meeting at Trafalgar Square, 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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