The Political Parties , Social Action Groups and Human Rights Organisations of Puducherry met External Affairs Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on 15-12-2008 at 12.30 PM at his office in Parliament at New Delhi and submitted the following memorandum and pressed him to intervene in Sri Lanka Ethnic issue and save the Tamils by immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
The delegation was led by Dr. Barun Mukherjee, MP of All India Forward Bloc and delegates are Su. Pavanan, Organising Secretary, P. Amuthavan, Secretary, Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Puducherry, V.Selvarasu, Organising Committee Member, Marumalarchi D.M.K., Puducherry, G.Sundramoorthy, President, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Puducherry, U. Muthu, General Secretary, All India Forward Bloc, Puducherry, Puratchi Vendan, President, Lok Janashakthi, Puducherry, G. Sugumaran, Secretary, Federation for People’s Rights (FPR), Puducherry, M.Ilango, Spokesperson, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK), Puducherry.
The memorandum:
On behalf of the people of the Union Territory of Puducherry, We, the representatives of Political Parties, Social Action Groups and Human Rights Organisations functioning in the State, would like to prefer this Memorandum to consider taking up the Ethnic and Human Rights issue of the Marginalised Tamils with the Neighbouring Country.
Your Honour may aware the untold sufferings faced and hardships suffered by the Ethnic Tamils for nearly half-a-century on various counts in the Sri Lanka. The adversities they underwent have no parallels in the history of similarly situated nascent democracies in the Sub-Continent.
Stifling voices of Democracy; suppressing genuine aspirations of people of their own country with iron hand; unleashing of State Terror by embarking on military adventure; depriving basic amenities for food, shelter and disregard of medical facilities have displaced the Minorities, within the State, on a massive scale, apart from driving them to endless miseries in the Island Nation.
As a result of relentless campaign undertaken by the various political formations within the united Sri Lanka had in the past yielded a little. On the other hand the neutral and secular voices once supported the traditional rights in the course of time faltered. This ground realities had encouraged the non-secular forces to firm up their un-democratic grip over and indulged in calculated discrimination and subjugation of Tamils as second class Citizens.
The systematic ploy of the Government of Sri Lanka had left the Tamils in disarray and resulted in internecine conflicts and clashes frequently affecting the peace loving, enduring Tamils over all these years. In the wake of the renewed armed conflicts the Tamils have lost their homes, possessions of lifetime and finally dignity.
This one sided war is truly catastrophic and taken heavy toll of human lives. So far the figure in this regard is one lac precious lives. Besides, left 3.5 lacs Tamils as refugees in their own country. The gravity of the situation is that in different countries of the world about 9 lac Sri Lankan Tamils have taken shelter with loss of face and human dignity. Their pathetic conditions for a decent, honouarable and secured life along with other citizens of their country have become a distant dream in their homeland. The situation of the Tamils in this context could be seen as vagabonds without sails. Their ignominy and insecurity can be compared to that of Jews during world wars and the condition of Palestinians now obtaining in the Middle East.
Fearing incessant reprisal from the army and fear for safety of life left more than a lac people to cross over to our Country as refugees in Tamilnadu and they are settled peacefully at our patronage. Besides, people, who ill-afford and could not shift across continued to live and suffer in tents on the roadsides and in forests fearing onslaught by the army and vagaries of weather. Their conditions are worse than their counterparts in their Country.
Negotiations and conciliations attempted earlier in their Nation could not scrape through as desired and now a stalemate situation has ensued. The unilateral cessation of dialogue and adoption of a rigid posture at all levels in the Island Nation has created a point of no return.
This attitude and intransigence exhibited at the level of the rulers and others in resolving age old – colonial power – created conflict, by military means are not going to resolve the conflict and would not certainly in good taste and augur well for the People of Sri Lanka.
International condemnation on the ongoing, undeterred military action on unarmed, peace loving Tamils still have not evoked adequate purposeful response from the Sri Lankan Nation. In this connection, we would like to draw your kind notice to the provisions of the United Nations that declared genocide as an international crime and the declaration of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, that states as follows:
‘any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’
This goes to amply testify that what is happening in Sri Lanka certainly is a clear case of genocide against the ethnic Tamils and calls for immediate and timely intervention by civilised nations of the world.
Therefore, We firmly believe that India as a strategic power and a leader of the SAARC shall have a moral stake and could use its good offices in the first instance, to urge the Sinhala Majority Government, to order immediate ceasefire and stop all kinds of hostilities against the Minority Tamils and also to resume dialogue for a lasting and enduring settlement.
The Signatories are:
Su. Pavanan, Organising Secretary, Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Puducherry.
V.Selvarasu, Organising Committee Member, Marumalarchi D.M.K., Puducherry.
T. Sanjeevi, President, Rashtriya Janatha Dal (RJD), Puducherry.
Thanga. Kalaimaran, President, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Puducherry.
G.Sundramoorthy, President, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Puducherry.
U. Muthu, General Secretary, All India Forward Bloc, Puducherry.
Puratchi Vendan, President, Lok Janashakthi, Puducherry.
G. Sugumaran, Secretary, Federation for People’s Rights (FPR), Puducherry.
R. Mangaiyarselvan, Organiser, Meenavar Viduthalai Vengaigal, Puducherry.
M.Ilango, Spokesperson, Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK), Puducherry.
S. Moorthy, Organiser, Puratchiyalar Ambedkar Thondar Padai (PATP), Puducherry.
The delegates from Puducherry also met Nationalist Congress Party’s President Mr. Sharad Pawar, Lok Janshakthi Party’s President Mr. Ramvilas Paswan, All india Forward Bloc General Secretary Mr. Debabrata Biswas and submitted the memorandum to intervene in Sri Lanka’s crisis and save the Tamils.
The External Affairs Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and the National Political Parties leaders assured the delegates that they will take steps to save the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
The said memorandum was also sent to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Defense Minister Mr. A.K. Antony of Government of India.
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