Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has urged the United Nations to refer Sri Lanka to International Criminal Court (ICC) or to establish a related international judicial mechanism for investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan State.
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran – PM – TGTE
“We firmly believe that neither a domestic mechanism nor a hybrid mechanism will meet out justice to the Tamil people” stated the Prime Minister of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran.
“The contact by the new Sri Lankan government for a domestic or hybrid mechanism to replace any international judicial process is an try to deflect the contact for the referral to ICC and to delay any meaningful actions on accountability. Efforts to establish a domestic Truth and Reconciliation Commission is one more diversionary tactic to protect those committed international crimes against Tamils.” he mentioned.
Issuing a statement nowadays the TGTE mentioned “The current scenario in Sri Lanka constitutes an ongoing ‘threat to the peace’ beneath Chapter 7 Post 39 due to the fact there has been completely no accountability for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
1) The Sri Lankan State is not ethnically neutral: In fact, most of the severe crimes in query were perpetrated by the state apparatus. For example: ‘Between September 2008 and 19 Might 2009, the Sri Lankan Army sophisticated its military campaign into the Vanni using large-scale and widespread shelling, causing big numbers of civilian deaths.’ Report of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Authorities on Sri Lanka, 31 March 2011.
2) The Sri Lankan judiciary is not ethnically neutral: From the mass killings of Tamils beginning in 1958 to date, justice has not been served. The courts have proved inadequate and successive governments have appointed ineffective inquiries under international stress that have not when led to the punishment of perpetrators. (Amnesty International, ‘Twenty Years of Make Believe: Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry,’ 11 June 2009).
3) There is no political will in Sri Lanka to offer justice for the Tamils.
“The domestic 2010 Lessons Discovered and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has not delivered Justice to Tamils: ‘…the LLRC is deeply flawed, does not meet international standards for an efficient accountability mechanism.’ UN Secretary General’s Panel of Expert’s Report on Accountability in Sri Lanka (March 31, 2011).
“The involvement of the international neighborhood in overseeing a domestic inquiry also ended up in failure, when the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) resigned in March 2008. (Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: Domestic Inquiry into Abuses a Smokescreen – October 27, 2009).
“‘International monitoring of an internal investigation is a waste of time’ noted a memorandum handed over to the UN last week by the Jaffna University Professors in Sri Lanka.
“It is crucial to note that, modify of guard in Sri Lanka will not result in the change of institutionalized impunity. Even though the President has been changed, the political environment vis-à-vis Tamils, has not changed.
“Almost all the leaders of the current Government had been leaders of earlier governments when repeated killings of Tamils in big numbers took location and these leaders not only failed to safeguard the Tamils but blocked any attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Importantly, the current President Mr. Sirisena is potentially culpable for crimes committed even though he served as the acting Defense Minister during the period at the finish of the war, when big number of Tamils have been killed. According the Economist Magazine edition on January 3rd, 2015 ‘Sirisena is hardly a beacon of hope for the Tamils: he was acting as defense minister in the nightmarish final fortnight of the war.’
“Additionally, the presences of a number of former military personal, like the military commander at the end of the war Basic Fonseka, are in senior positions in the present government. This along with existing president’s possible culpability will have significant effect on neutrality and effectiveness of any domestic or hybrid mechanisms.
“The truth is that the military apparatus from the war is nonetheless intact and the Tamil places in the North-East are heavily militarized, producing deep fear among Tamils, so it is unlikely that victims / witnesses will come forward prior to a domestic or hybrid tribunal.
“To Highlight the Urgency of this referral TGTE have initiated a one particular Million Signature Campaign to get worldwide assistance from distinct nationalities. The appeal is to be translated in 15 languages.”