A diaspora organisation based in the United States has intensified its campaign against Sri Lanka in an attempt to refer the country to the International Criminal Court.
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) led by former LTTE member V. Rudrakumaran, said that a signature campaign to urge the United Nations to Refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed against Tamils by the Sri Lankan State, has reached over 200,000 signatures as of June 22nd.
It also said that in addition to the on-line signature campaign, numerous events are taking place in different countries around the world to collect signatures.
“Volunteers are going house to house to collect signatures. Additionally they collect signatures outside places of worship, in shopping malls, sports meets and other public events. Signatures are also being collected at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,” the TGTE said.
This signature campaign was formally launched by former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark outside the UN headquarters in New York. During the inauguration he said “The suffering of the Tamils should come to an end, and Tamils should get justice.”
The petition observed that the presence of the former Commander of the Sri Lankan military in the present Government, and the potential culpability of the new President, Maithripala Sirisena, will not be conducive to meting out justice in any manner other than through a referral to the International Criminal Court.
The appeal also notes that according to the UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, there were “credible estimates” of civilian casualties of 70,000 Tamils during the first six months in 2009.
The Petition Further States that the current situation in Sri Lanka constitutes an ongoing “threat to the peace” under Chapter 7 Article 39 of the UN Charter, because there has been absolutely no accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. (Colombo Gazette)
RETURN OF THE LTTE 