Durban Tamils demonstrate against Sri Lanka's rights violations

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 May 2006, 00:23 GMT]
More than 500 Tamil activists participated in a demonstration held Sunday in Durban, South Africa organized by the Tamil Co-ordinating Committee of South Africa, protesting against the killings of Tamil civilians in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka, sources in Durban said. Placards carried by the protesters accused the Government of Sri Lanka for the complicity of Sri Lanka security forces and paramilitaries in several killings, including the recent murders of eight residents of Allaipiddy in Jaffna islets, sources added.

Demonstrators shouted slogans and carried placards with slogans including: “Don’t kill Tamils," “Don’t kill Tamil students” and “Tigers are freedom fighters,"

"We want to highlight the plight of the Tamil People in the Northeast to the South African people. We feel that the Sri Lankan government is committing genocide of the Tamil People of Sri Lanka," organzing officials said.

Demonstration concluded with a memorandum being handed to Ethekwini Deputy Mayor, Loganathan Naidoo. The memorandum was addressed to the President of South Africa, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki.

The memorandum said that the demonstration was organized to highlight to the South African government, community and the world the following:

1. The Sri Lankan Government has been blatantly violating the ceasefire agreement by-
   • Use of paramilitary forces to kill Tamil civilians and LTTE members.
   • Kidnapping and assisting in the disappearances of Tamil civilians and N.G.O’s
   • Resumption of aerial bombing of Tamil civilian targets, killing several Tamils.
2. Several innocent Tamils were and are being killed daily for just being Tamil.
3. Recent spate of Killings included families that slept together seeking safety in numbers. This just presented the Sri Lankan Navy an opportunity to massacre them on 13th May 2006.
4. Tamil intellectuals, Tamil Parliamentarians, Tamil journalists and Tamil students are being killed by the Sri Lankan army and navy.
5. Tamils are being targeted by paramilitaries that the government is assisting and providing shelter and arms to.
6. This is in effect GENOCIDE of Tamil people committed by the Sri Lankan Government.
7. This would result in wiping out a nation of Tamils, Tamil language and culture.
8. Sri Lankan government and the Colombo based media have fed the international community with biased news.
9. Tamils throughout the world will be demonstrating in solidarity on May 29th in response to the human rights violations against the Tamils, by the Sri Lankan Government.

Chronology: