OTA and TGM wholeheartedly thank again the parliamentarian for recognizing Tamil Genocide, we thank over 17,063 signatories who signed the request petition.
Tamil Diaspora has been calling for a Nuremberg-like Tribunal to prosecute the leadership of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) accountable for the crime of genocide.” — Tamil Genocide Memorial
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, November 30, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA) and Tamil Genocide Memorial (TGM) released a statement: “In 2020, we started this petition for Canada to officially recognize the Tamil genocide by the Sri Lankan government ( https://www.change.org/tamilgenocide). The petition obtained overwhelming support from the Tamil Diaspora community over the two years and many in Canada stand in solidarity with Tamil Canadian’s continuous requests. In August 2022, we are closing the petition as our request was heard by our government and we firmly believe in our Global affairs and the office of the Prime Minister will make this an official foreign policy of Canada. As Tamil Canadians, we wholeheartedly thank the parliamentarian for recognizing the Tamil Genocide (https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/573298886). “
BELOW, PLEASE FIND THE FULL STATEMENT:
Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA) and Tamil Genocide Memorial (TGM) thank our members of parliament on behalf of seventeen thousand signatories and Tamil Diaspora for recognizing the Tamil Genocide on May 18, 2022. In 2020, we started this petition for Canada to officially recognize the Tamil genocide by the Sri Lankan government
( https://www.change.org/tamilgenocide). The petition obtained overwhelming support from the Tamil Diaspora community over the two years and many in Canada stand in solidarity with Tamil Canadian’s continuous requests. In August 2022, we are closing the petition as our request was heard by our government and we firmly believe in our Global affairs and the office of the Prime Minister will make this an official foreign policy of Canada. As Tamil Canadians, we wholeheartedly thank the parliamentarian for recognizing the Tamil Genocide (https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/573298886).
Thousands of evidence from Tamils show the intention of the genocide. After 2009, Tamil Diaspora has been calling for a Nuremberg-like Tribunal to prosecute and hold prominent members of the political, military, judicial, and economic leadership of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) accountable for the crime of genocide. The lack of UN and INGO evidence collection regarding the Tamil genocide in Tamil Eelam has undermined Tamil justice efforts in a systematic manner. However, Tamils and human rights activists approached Permanent People Tribunal and other possible avenues. As a resilient community, the Tamil diaspora will continue to seek justice.
On February 20, 2017, women-led families of the disappeared began protesting by the roadside in Kilinochchi to demand answers regarding the fates and locations of their loved ones. They felt a sense of hope for justice from the Canadian parliament Genocide recognition. Most of their children and family members were handed over to the Sri Lankan military at the end of the war in 2009 and they still don’t know the whereabouts of their family members.
In 2012, a United Nations panel report of the Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka (https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/737299) reported war crimes and the failure of the UN in genocide investigation. Tamil diaspora and human rights activists continued to call for an international tribunal like Nuremberg. In 2015, the UNHRC revolution mandated a hybrid court with foreign prosecutors and judges. As usual, the Sri Lankan government denied implementing it.
“Earlier this year, another damning report from the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights called out the Sri Lankan government for “its unwillingness to recognize serious international crimes and pursue accountability.” The report went on to urge countries around the world to consider universal jurisdiction and targeted sanctions against alleged perpetrators.” As stated on August 26, 2022, CBC article, (https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sri-lanka-gotabaya-rajapaksa-war-crimes-1.6561580)
On July 24, the International Truth and Justice Project (https://itjpsl.com/) filed a criminal complaint with the attorney general in Singapore, where former president Rajapaksa first fled, asking that he be arrested under that country’s Geneva Conventions Act. Their hope was that the ousted president could be held accountable under universal jurisdiction — the idea that any nation’s courts can try people for alleged crimes against humanity committed elsewhere.
As former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa lose immunity, the Tamil Canadians call for sanctions and prosecutions.
We wholeheartedly thank again the parliamentarian for recognizing Tamil Genocide, we thank over 17,000 signatories who signed the request petition and closed the petition as the request is reached.
Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA), https://ottawatamilassociation.ca/
Tamil Genocide Memorial (TGM) – https://tamilgenocide.com/