New evidence illustrates extreme violations of international law, yet
hope remains as a voice from Canada calls the Tamil Diaspora home.
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Videos and photos accompanying this article are extremely graphic; those
sensitive to these types of images are advised to view with extreme
caution, not suggested for children.
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(SALEM) - More evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka; it is a disturbing
matter and the images contained in this article are tragic and gruesome,
so proceed at your own discretion.
While these images shake us to the core, it is also true that a strong
voice can accomplish tremendous healing for an embattled population when
inspiring people and leading them to direct action.
Tremendous devotion and passion are required when delivering people out
of Genocide and back to their rightful place. This story is about death
and Genocide, and also about a new voice raising hope for those living
within the Tamil Diaspora.
Victims of State Terrorism
The Tamil Hindu and Christians who live in the north of Sri Lanka were
slaughtered mercilessly in a military onslaught that failed to
distinguish civilian from militant in the months preceding the summer of
2009.
Some say 40,000 died, but others place the number much higher.
Regardless of the number that died, upwards of 160,000 Tamils ceased to
exist when the war ended.
The photos of the dead and dying are so graphic and sad; they leave
lasting impressions for those of us who spend time researching this
subject and writing about it. We can only begin to imagine the emotional
scars that exist as a result of this time period. The toll inflicted
upon these people is the result of a calculated Genocide.
One of the darkest aspects for the government of Sri Lanka, is the fact
that the military attacks in the north all came at a time that a cease
fire between the Tigers and the SLA was in place.
Graphic Videos Offer Few Answers
From this part of this article forward, 17 video clips and one slide
show containing 23 images, comprise the group of media dispatched from
London to our newsroom, in hopes of identifying those shown. I do not suggest that highly sensitive people look at these, although on the other hand I think we all need to see them to comprehend the enormity of this tragedy.
Today the Tamil survivors are denied the Right of Return that is granted
under international law and specifically called for under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights enacted by the United Nations in the late
1940's.
The efforts to wipe out the Tamils began after the election of the
current president of Sri Lanka, Majinda Rajapakse, in 2005. Using the
assistance of George W. Bush and Tony Blair, Sri Lanka's political
planners went about having the armed resistance and political leadership
of Tamil Eelam, called sometimes a 'breakaway state', declared a
terrorist group.
The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) lost its ability to bargain
for Tamils in the world political forum with the 'terrorist'
designation.
It was the beginning of the end.
Along with the military invasion of the north came heinous crimes
against women and children. The cruelty that was recorded in many cases
by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers themselves, is devastating to the
viewer.
The new series of video that are making the rounds, shows Tamil Tiger
prisoners being transported on a bus with the bodies of their dead,
handcuffed and helpless.
We recently carried an article that showed the new photographs that were
released just before these video clips sent to our newsroom by a London
attorney, Vasuki Muruhathas, who represents an unnamed Tamil war crime
victim.
Captive, Handcuffed and Dying... 'Brutal' and 'Shocking'Describe Newly Released Sri Lanka War Crime Images, shows up close the helpless prisoners cuffed to the metal rails of the bus seats.
Their faces are forlorn and they are very, very young. Not surprisingly,
their faces are painted with shades of resignation that seem
inevitable. They know the hatred that the Sinhalese hold for them and
with a designation of 'terrorist' they are regarded as non-humans.
There are several clips of them alive, many appearing to be seriously
injured; we are trying along with other groups to identify these
victim/prisoners and learn if any are alive or accounted for.
If you have any information of any kind regarding these captured Tigers,
please contact us. The comment section is always an option, if the
information is private just note this and the comment will not be
published, the information will simply be put to good use to help
determine identities and the status of the individuals.
A number of clips show rows and rows of dead people who appear to be
Tamil Tigers as many are wearing the uniform of the LTTE. As if
providing today's investigators of this series of war crimes some type
of morbid favour, the SLA photographed and videotaped a great deal of
their actions against the Tamils.
More Rows of Dead Bodies
The photographers in this event from the SLA, used video cameras to
document the dead and it appears that they are all recorded at a
reasonably close proximity. Whether they correlate to the above images
is not known; again we are seeking any information that is out there,
and we will treat it carefully and properly; the ultimate goal is to be
able to provide relatives with answers.
In typical fashion as you see in these images, the women are almost all
exposed, their shirts missing or lifted to expose their breasts, many
have had their pants removed. It is a sad fact that a a large number of
Tamil women and girls were brutalized by the Sri Lankan soldiers.
Past articles have carried the grisly details and some clips even show
the SLA abusing the dead and dying bodies of female prisoners. Their
morbid comments are among other things, absolutely and completely
remorseless.
This is the result of total indoctrination. There is little difference
between the Sri Lanka conflict and others in this respect. Resistance
groups and their oppressors are often raised to see their counterpart as
something close to subhuman.
Hatred and constant killing compounds the bitterness and chances of
peaceful co-existence fly out the window; healing from these traumatic
events is very difficult for people on both sides of the conflict.
This is a killer of all hope for legal behavior and makes human rights laws become meaningless.
This is why the war crimes of Sri Lanks must not go unpunished; this
government has proven to the world conclusively that it is not capable
of behaving in a humane or legal manner.
There are endless examples of this taking place and there is the
revolting fact that Sri Lanka went after the journalists who wrote
honestly about what happened to the Tamils after Rajapakse and his
brothers took over the country.
I have written about this detail of the Genocide also and the links to
all of my past reports are located below this story and clearly
identified.
The sad truth is that many Sinhala Buddhists are raised to hate Tamils
and it is a fact that the same is true of Tamils. The divide is tragic
for all of the people of this otherwise beautiful island nation.
The history of both cultures here is ancient and there is no
reason that the two cultures can not live together peacefully. It is the
drive to establish the ideal Sinhala nation that has driven these
Buddhists to become such cold blooded killers.
As much as Lankan nationalists would like to deny it, the fact remains
that its government is a conduit of state terrorism and its hands are
soaked in the blood of tens of thousands of Tamils, and also many
Sinhalese who support equal human rights.
There are many examples over the years; both in the time period
following liberation from English colonization in the late 1940's, and
all of the following generations, of Sri Lanka removing and striking the
Tamil culture from official account. This all fed the notion of
separation with Tamil Eelam and only the national ego of Sri Lanka's
majority have kept this process from becoming fully implemented.
Black July in 1983 saw mobs of Sinhalese Buddhists terrorize thousands
of Tamils, raping and murdering people simply because they were Tamil and burning down countless homes and businesses.
It was retaliation to the SLA casualties in a battle with the LTTE.
Armed forces fought armed forces; yet the retaliation by a firebrand
Buddhist monk close to the government, led to massive carnage.
Krishna Saravanamuttu, A Promising Future Diaspora Leader
Krishna Saravanamuttu, a 26 old Tamil Canadian, who is a winner of
Queen’s Jubilee Medal, is a promising young Diaspora leader on the rise.
In all the forums he spoke he emphasized the need for an independent
international investigation into the war crimes and genocide of Eelam
Tamils by Sri Lanka. Mr. Saravanamuttu called on Canada to support the
eviction of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth. He has also
also been demanding a referendum among the Eezham Tamils on the basis
of historical, earned and remedial aspects of Tamil sovereignty as the
only means to check the protracted genocide of the Eelam Tamil nation.
This is in sharp contrast to some of the wavering stand taken by some of
the older Tamil leaders.
It is about time the various Diaspora and Eelam Tamil leaders merge
together and put up a common stand on the question of sovereignty and
Eelam statehood. For a million Tamil Diaspora a dozen Tamil parties is
just too much. It is also about time the older generation move the youth
to the forefront and they take a back seat.
Mr Glen Murray, the Canadian cabinet minister in-charge of universities,
who nominated him for the award, told TamilNet, “Krisna has provided
outstanding leadership in Canada's student movement, in his advocacy
with the United Nations for justice for Tamils around the world and his
leadership in building youth organizations committed to social justice
and human equality.”
“He is one of our countries emerging leaders and demonstrates the
personal integrity that has earned him the trust of so many and allowed
him to accomplish so much,” Glen Murray further said. A Canadian
minister cannot be far out of mark. Please listen to the tube to find
out what he has to say.
- Special thanks to Noel Vethanayagam
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A Light in the Darkest of Night
A young Canadian named Krishna Saravanamuttu, is speaking out for Eelam Tamils and making a number of points clear:
- Tamils are the victims of a Genocide in Sri Lanka at the hands of
the Sinhalese Buddhist government that peaked in May 2009, yet has
reigned for more than sixty years.
- The Genocide is not over, as 100,000 occupational troops remain in
the north and east; Eezham Tamils are prevented from returning to their
homes, and resuming ownership of property that is rightfully theirs.
- Seeking meaningless war crime sanctions will not lead to any real
results or positive lasting change for Tamils who seek to live in the
Tamil homeland. The only answer is for Tamil Eelam to exist as a nation,
which it has, and does still; according to previously established
doctrine.
- Tamil Eelam's existence as a recognized sovereign government, gave
it legitimate power to defend itself; therefore completely and totally
legitimizing the role of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
- The Tamil Tigers did not form, nor did any Tamils partake in any
form of armed resistance, until after three decades of attempting to
counter Genocide through non-violent civil disobedience. The elimination
of languages and culture are indeed, also aspects of Genocide.
Krisna Saravanamuttu has the unique ability to reach Americans and
Canadians in English delivered without a hint of an accent. His sincere
call for a Tamil homeland to be established is logical and conforms to
established international law, which Sri Lanka has violated for so many
years.
The Tamil Diaspora needs a bright light to guide them through the fog;
an enlightened leader who can reach the western power brokers and make
them understand the fact that none of Sri Lanka's problems would exist
had the colonizing British not divided this population; giving
advantages to the Tamils that Sinhalese were denied; resentment was
fierce and the payback to the Tamils for a preference they received but
did not ask for, has been a terrible bloody mess for too long.
Krisna Saravanamuttu on Tamil Sovereignty Cognition: Declaration on universal justice to the national question of Eelam Tamils.
By Ravi Perera
June 22, 2012
The event’s theme, "How the Prevention of Torture Promotes the Freedom of Expression and Journalism in Asia," will be held on June 25 (Monday), from 4pm to 6pm at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (FCC), Hong Kong.
