Pleading Government of India to help 19 Eelam Tamils, who have got stranded in UAE and unwilling to return to Sri Lanka, seek resettlement in any other country through the UNHCR, DMK President and TESO Chairman Kalaignar reiterated his demand that India should exert pressure for shifting the venue of the meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government from Colombo.
In his epistle to DMK cadre on April 22, Kalaignar said that Eelam Tamils who cross seas to save themselves escaping from the Lankan armed forces get caught by armed forces of many countries. The UNO had directed for the deportation of 19 of 45 such people who got caught and disembarked in Dubai. In an interview given to ‘Junior Vikatan’ weekly, one among them Ramanan had said that 102 Eelam refugees reached Sithalakarai in Tuticorin district last October on their way to Australia and assembled at Kali temple there. He, his wife and their daughter were in that group. 45 of them who first got into a boat started towards Australia without getting caught by the police. He and his wife embarked on the boat while their child who was to come with the next group was caught by the police. While he and his wife were now in Dubai their child was in Trichy. Their boat which started from Sithalakkarai on October 9 developed leak while on the international maritime boundary. They got tired after pouring out water from inside the boat and informed Australian Navy through satellite phone. After some time, a cargo vessel came and saved them. It was pitch dark and they could not understand language also. While they believed they were taken to Australia they were asked to disembark at Jabbar Ali port in Dubai. Some voluntary agencies also came to whom they said that they started to Australia to seek asylum but they were brought here; they wanted to be assured that they won’t be deported back to Sri Lanka and refused to disembark from the ship. Only on their assurance that Dubai administration won’t deport them to Lanka they disembarked. But now the UNHCR had abandoned them and decided to deport 19 of them back to Lanka.
Another in the group Harini alias Lohini Rathi Mohan had said that she served as news reader in the national television channel of the LTTE, escaped in 2009 and came to Tamil Nadu. They landed there only because they were promised not to be sent back to Lanka. But now the UNHCR asked them to go back to Lanka. They were not allowed to talk freely to the media or outside world and kept locked. If they were returned to Lanka the fate of Isaipriya would befall them. Moreover, her husband was in some country and parents and sister in some other. They wished that all of them should be sent to same country and allowed to rejoin with their families. “We cross sea only to seek better life. Did they save us from mid-sea only to be deported to the country where we do not want to go?” she asked.
Kalaignar said thus they had given vent to their agony. Among the 45 who were landed in Dubai, most importantly were the wife and children of LTTE’s army spokesman Ilanthirayan and some other militants. Among them, 8 were accepted by Sweden and the USA had assured asylum for 11. After already 7 were deported to Lanka, no country had come forward to give asylum to the remaining 19 persons. According to reports the Dubai government was preparing to repatriate them back to Colombo.
Kalaignar said no other instance needed to be sought to show how hapless Tamils were suffering in different parts of the world. “They are Tamils, Eelam Tamils, only we have the first duty to help them. We have a country for us. They (the government) should immediately take action to redress their suffering. These 19 are not prepared to go back to Lanka and are prepared to seek asylum in any country. Should not the Indian government help to see light in their lives?” Kalaignar asked.
Referring to more and more reports about Sri Lanka’s Sinhala majoritarian racist regime, Kalaignar said last week the British government issued a statement that human rights violations were worse in Lanka. Following this the US administration’s State department had released its report on human rights violations in Sri Lanka in 2012. It has reported that major human rights problems were attack and harassment of civil society activists, persons viewed as LTTE sympathisers and journalists, creating an environment of fear and self-censorship; involuntary disappearances as well as lack of accountability for thousands who disappeared in the previous years; and wide spread impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses, particularly involving police torture and attacks on media and the judiciary; unlawful killings by security forces and government-aided paramilitary groups, often in predominantly Tamil areas. Social welfare minister and leader of Eelam People’s Democratic Party Douglas Devananda was encouraging terrorising and robbery and corrupt activities in Jaffna.
Only with these in mind that the resolution adopted at the TESO conference in Chennai on 12.8.2012, it was pointed out that ‘many Tamil youths were missing in suspicious manner and many others were subjected to untold pain and distress in torture camps. Tamil women were subjected to sexual violence and several atrocities by armed forces. Staring at guns Tamil children were affected by violence unleashed by armed forces and live in endless fear.’ We had been continuously urging that an independent and credible international inquiry commission should be appointed to inquire into such human rights violations and genocide in Lanka.
Kalaignar also referred to reports that 250 Lankan naval personnel were imparted training in three Indian Coast Guard ships Sujatha, Tarangini and Varuna and a deputy admiral of Sri Lankan Navy claiming that 80 percent of Lankan naval forces were trained by India, adding agony to us day by day. In spite of us and all those interested in the welfare of Eelam Tamils continuously urging the Centre not to impart training to any Lankan armed forces in any part of India, still such trainings continued which was atrocious. ‘There is no other way than condemning such acts of the Centre on behalf of Tamil Nadu,” Kalaignar said.
In the meanwhile, according to reports, an unanimous resolution was adopted at the Commonwealth Law Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, between April 14-18, attended by 27 Chief Justices, urging Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to meet in London on April 26, to place Sri Lanka on the agenda and suspend it from the Council of the Commonwealth for serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s fundamental values. The resolution also called upon Commonwealth countries to reconsider holding CHOGM in Lanka, and blamed the SL government for its role in impeaching Chief Jstice Shirani Bandaranayake in defiance of the judgments of high courts in Sri Lanka.
Kalaignar recalled that the DMK executive committee in its emergency meeting on 23.3.2013 adopted a resolution which said the conducting of the Commonwealth conference in Sri Lanka, which unleashed genocide and tried to annihilate Tamil Eelam people, was not fair and unacceptable by any account and requested the leadership of Commonwealth not to hold the conference there for any reason.
Moreover, he had urged in his statement on 6.4.2013 that the CMAG meeting in London on 26.4.2013 take decision against CHOGM in Lanka. The Chief Justices of Commonwealth nations have reflected the demand made by us then, Kalaignar said reiterating his plea that all nations of the Commonwealth should support this decision and urged India agaain to exert required pressure for it.
In his epistle to DMK cadre on April 22, Kalaignar said that Eelam Tamils who cross seas to save themselves escaping from the Lankan armed forces get caught by armed forces of many countries. The UNO had directed for the deportation of 19 of 45 such people who got caught and disembarked in Dubai. In an interview given to ‘Junior Vikatan’ weekly, one among them Ramanan had said that 102 Eelam refugees reached Sithalakarai in Tuticorin district last October on their way to Australia and assembled at Kali temple there. He, his wife and their daughter were in that group. 45 of them who first got into a boat started towards Australia without getting caught by the police. He and his wife embarked on the boat while their child who was to come with the next group was caught by the police. While he and his wife were now in Dubai their child was in Trichy. Their boat which started from Sithalakkarai on October 9 developed leak while on the international maritime boundary. They got tired after pouring out water from inside the boat and informed Australian Navy through satellite phone. After some time, a cargo vessel came and saved them. It was pitch dark and they could not understand language also. While they believed they were taken to Australia they were asked to disembark at Jabbar Ali port in Dubai. Some voluntary agencies also came to whom they said that they started to Australia to seek asylum but they were brought here; they wanted to be assured that they won’t be deported back to Sri Lanka and refused to disembark from the ship. Only on their assurance that Dubai administration won’t deport them to Lanka they disembarked. But now the UNHCR had abandoned them and decided to deport 19 of them back to Lanka.
Another in the group Harini alias Lohini Rathi Mohan had said that she served as news reader in the national television channel of the LTTE, escaped in 2009 and came to Tamil Nadu. They landed there only because they were promised not to be sent back to Lanka. But now the UNHCR asked them to go back to Lanka. They were not allowed to talk freely to the media or outside world and kept locked. If they were returned to Lanka the fate of Isaipriya would befall them. Moreover, her husband was in some country and parents and sister in some other. They wished that all of them should be sent to same country and allowed to rejoin with their families. “We cross sea only to seek better life. Did they save us from mid-sea only to be deported to the country where we do not want to go?” she asked.
Kalaignar said thus they had given vent to their agony. Among the 45 who were landed in Dubai, most importantly were the wife and children of LTTE’s army spokesman Ilanthirayan and some other militants. Among them, 8 were accepted by Sweden and the USA had assured asylum for 11. After already 7 were deported to Lanka, no country had come forward to give asylum to the remaining 19 persons. According to reports the Dubai government was preparing to repatriate them back to Colombo.
Kalaignar said no other instance needed to be sought to show how hapless Tamils were suffering in different parts of the world. “They are Tamils, Eelam Tamils, only we have the first duty to help them. We have a country for us. They (the government) should immediately take action to redress their suffering. These 19 are not prepared to go back to Lanka and are prepared to seek asylum in any country. Should not the Indian government help to see light in their lives?” Kalaignar asked.
Referring to more and more reports about Sri Lanka’s Sinhala majoritarian racist regime, Kalaignar said last week the British government issued a statement that human rights violations were worse in Lanka. Following this the US administration’s State department had released its report on human rights violations in Sri Lanka in 2012. It has reported that major human rights problems were attack and harassment of civil society activists, persons viewed as LTTE sympathisers and journalists, creating an environment of fear and self-censorship; involuntary disappearances as well as lack of accountability for thousands who disappeared in the previous years; and wide spread impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses, particularly involving police torture and attacks on media and the judiciary; unlawful killings by security forces and government-aided paramilitary groups, often in predominantly Tamil areas. Social welfare minister and leader of Eelam People’s Democratic Party Douglas Devananda was encouraging terrorising and robbery and corrupt activities in Jaffna.
Only with these in mind that the resolution adopted at the TESO conference in Chennai on 12.8.2012, it was pointed out that ‘many Tamil youths were missing in suspicious manner and many others were subjected to untold pain and distress in torture camps. Tamil women were subjected to sexual violence and several atrocities by armed forces. Staring at guns Tamil children were affected by violence unleashed by armed forces and live in endless fear.’ We had been continuously urging that an independent and credible international inquiry commission should be appointed to inquire into such human rights violations and genocide in Lanka.
Kalaignar also referred to reports that 250 Lankan naval personnel were imparted training in three Indian Coast Guard ships Sujatha, Tarangini and Varuna and a deputy admiral of Sri Lankan Navy claiming that 80 percent of Lankan naval forces were trained by India, adding agony to us day by day. In spite of us and all those interested in the welfare of Eelam Tamils continuously urging the Centre not to impart training to any Lankan armed forces in any part of India, still such trainings continued which was atrocious. ‘There is no other way than condemning such acts of the Centre on behalf of Tamil Nadu,” Kalaignar said.
In the meanwhile, according to reports, an unanimous resolution was adopted at the Commonwealth Law Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, between April 14-18, attended by 27 Chief Justices, urging Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to meet in London on April 26, to place Sri Lanka on the agenda and suspend it from the Council of the Commonwealth for serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s fundamental values. The resolution also called upon Commonwealth countries to reconsider holding CHOGM in Lanka, and blamed the SL government for its role in impeaching Chief Jstice Shirani Bandaranayake in defiance of the judgments of high courts in Sri Lanka.
Kalaignar recalled that the DMK executive committee in its emergency meeting on 23.3.2013 adopted a resolution which said the conducting of the Commonwealth conference in Sri Lanka, which unleashed genocide and tried to annihilate Tamil Eelam people, was not fair and unacceptable by any account and requested the leadership of Commonwealth not to hold the conference there for any reason.
Moreover, he had urged in his statement on 6.4.2013 that the CMAG meeting in London on 26.4.2013 take decision against CHOGM in Lanka. The Chief Justices of Commonwealth nations have reflected the demand made by us then, Kalaignar said reiterating his plea that all nations of the Commonwealth should support this decision and urged India agaain to exert required pressure for it.
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