- Suren Surendiran is a senior member of the British Tamils Forum and the official spokesperson for the Global Tamil Forum. The opinions expressed are his own. -

“Some governments try to dodge criticism by claiming that human rights are ‘western values’. But people all over the world prove them wrong by demanding and suffering for their human rights – be they imprisoned protesters in Iran, or murdered journalists in Russia, or civilians caught up in conflicts in Sri Lanka or Gaza. We must continue to support people who demand their human rights across the world.” – David Miliband, Foreign Secretary, Statement to mark International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2009 -

Sri Lanka’s president is pressing forward with parliamentary elections on April 8, 2010 despite allegations of electoral malpractice surrounding his own presidential election victory in January, the country facing economic crisis and growing international criticisms for the State’s callous disregard for human rights, general governance and lack of political will to resolve the 62 years long conflict.

The U.S. State Department, in its Annual Report on Human Rights for 2009, has been highly critical of the Sri Lankan government. It says the government or paramilitary groups close to it were involved in summary killings and disappearances and that lawyers and journalists were harassed and victimised. It says the war-affected parts of the country saw the greatest number of political disappearances, estimated to be in the hundreds.

Britain has also named Sri Lanka a “country of concern” in the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report 2009. “This reflects our concern about allegations of serious conflict violations, as well as the deteriorating status of the rule of law and freedom of expression…” – United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights 2009

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on March 8, 2010 expressed “concerns about the lack of progress on political reconciliation, the treatment of Internally Displaced Persons and the setting up of an accountability process in Sri Lanka”.

The prospect of a panel of experts being appointed to advise the Secretary General on accountability issues relating to Sri Lanka was not welcomed by President Rajapakse who said it was “uncalled for and unwarranted”.

- Suren Surendiran is the spokesman for the British Tamils Forum. The opinions expressed are his own. -

The news that over 20,000 innocent civilians were killed by the military onslaught of the Sri Lankan army has shocked the world, but not world leaders like President Obama, Prime Minister Brown, President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel. For, they knew exactly what was going to happen and what is happening now.

How right Albert Einstein was when he said, “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of those who are evil but because of those who don’t do anything about it”.

“When genocide is happening,” said candidate Obama, so eloquently during the second presidential debate, “when ethnic cleansing is happening somewhere around the world and we stand idly by, that diminishes us.”

The United Nations has yet again proved under the current leadership, that it is an ineffective organisation in conflict resolution and prevention of genocide.

It is a great shame for India to have had a hand in the mass killings of Tamils. The other countries that had helped Sri Lanka militarily do not have the best human rights record in the world and their moral values proved to be questionable. India produced the greatest of men on earth, the great Mahatma Gandhi.

The politicians who do not follow Gandhian principles are not worthy to hang his photograph in their place of work. Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted that he fought India’s war, but as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces and Executive President of the country, he is the one who would be facing the War Crimes Tribunal, even if he pleads insanity.

- Suren Surendiran is the spokesman for the British Tamils Forum. The opinions expressed are his own. -

The war against Tamils has ended, if we believe the statements coming from Sri Lankan state news media and the carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign.

What of the civilians now? The celebrations in Colombo have smoke-screened the fate of the 20,000 – 25,000 injured civilians and prisoners of war from the war zone. Despite the “End of the War” these civilians, who have endured continuous aerial bombardment, artillery shelling and cluster bombs, have yet to be given medical attention. Many are still stranded in the makeshift medical facility or caught up at “check points” or held at school halls “temporarily” without medical treatment.

The international community must act now, at least, to salvage the thousands of lives that their inaction has cost until now. The internment camps that were already bursting at the seams and of deplorable conditions must now facilitate over twice its capacity, but there is no road map to safeguard the welfare of these Tamil civilians.

International community including the UN were rushing to call for evacuation of Tamil people from their home environment to a foreign land (Army controlled territory where amongst other things even the language is foreign to majority of these people) without ensuring their safety and security or adequate facilities in camps.

The war on Tamils in the name of “War on Terror” has caused untold civilian casualties, total destruction of the Tamil homeland, all with the tacit approval of the “International Community”. By all accounts the dead are left to decay; injured bleed to death and the Sinhala nation is celebrating the annihilation of Tamils.

Amidst the despair and immense anguish felt by the Tamil Diaspora, there is much anger and discontent, to a system that has failed them. United Nations, the very emblem of human rights, dignity and equality has committed a betrayal of the Tamil people, denying them of even the basic right to food and medicine.