US Tamils urge UN action against Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 July 2006, 02:28 GMT]
Several hundred Tamil Americans, including several catholic priests, assembled in front of the United Nations Head Quarters in 42nd St & 1st Ave, New York city Friday afternoon to protest against the violence committed by Sri Lanka Security forces on Tamil civilians in the NorthEast and to urge the United Nations to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to negotiate in good faith with Liberation Tigers towards a just and fair solution to the national question.



International Human Rights Attorney, Ms. Karen Parker, attended the protest.

Representatives of the Tamil organizations later submitted a memorandum to UN officials and had an hour long discussion on concerns of expatriate Tamils.

The memorandum urged the United Nations to:

• Take the lead in acknowledging that the actions of the government of Sri Lanka against Eelam Tamils constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,
• Force the Government of Sri Lanka to refrain from targeting Eelam Tamils, their livelihood and culture in their military actions,
• Refer the crimes committed by the Government of Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for prosecution,
• Impose a military embargo on the Government of Sri Lanka.
• Ensure the current military parity – essential for a negotiated settlement – between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is maintained, and
• Urge the Government of Sri Lanka to negotiate in good faith with the authentic and legitimate representatives of the Eelam Tamils toward a political resolution of the Tamil national question which recognizes the right to self-determination of the Tamil people.

Ms Parker, Representative from Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), President of Ilankai Tamil Sangam and Representative of American Tamil Youth Organization addressed the protesters at the end of the rally.

Attorney to the LTTE, Visuwanathan Rudrakumar, also addressed the protesters.

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