Association Droit et Talents de Femmes
We want to alert on the need of good practices and approaches in Sri Lanka to save those Tamils
who are suffering on the island from cultural genocide and forced occupation by the Sri Lankan
government with heavy militarization in the north and east of Sri Lanka. For more than 2,400 days,
Tamils protesting to know the whereabouts of those who have disappeared, are facing violence,
intimidation, and harassment by the state apparatus. Occupation of Tamil land by the military
continues. For every 5 Tamils, there is a Singhalese soldier in the Tamil heartland. Several peace
demonstrations have been met with excessive use of force, and the arrest and detention of
demonstrators in quarantine centers. Since 2015, the UN has wasted enough precious resources in
Sri Lanka without any of the desired results. No amount of technical support Sri Lanka would help in
minimizing the suffering of the Tamils. The Sri Lanka state launched a crackdown against [inaudible]
on the 27th of November. After days of [inaudible] to prevent events from going ahead through court
orders and even further destruction of memorials. During the final course of the war in May 2009,
the Sri Lankan armed forces, who killed or enforced disappearances of more than 175,000 Tamils
[inaudible], there are 146,679 unaccounted Tamils. The [inaudible] Commission appointed by the UN
in 2012 estimated that more than 70,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed during the final stage
of the war. Therefore, as the need for good practices and approaches to prevent any other
international crimes, we request the international community to refer Sri Lanka to the ICC for
investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Tamils should
be recognized as a separate nation, the right to self-determination of the Tamils should be
recognized by the international community. Thank you for your attention.