Tamils protest in New York, say Ban ineffective, lacks leadership

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 04:08 GMT]
Several dozen American Tamils assembled near the United Nations building between 1st Avenue and 47th Street Tuesday around noon and protested against UN inaction, particularly the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, for first failing to prevent the bloodbath in May when more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were allegedly killed by Sri Lanka Army using heavy weapons, and now for allowing Sri Lanka to continue to incarcerate nearly 300,000 in military supervised internment camps with little freedom of movement. Protesters urged the UN to take swift action to pressure Sri Lanka to allow civilians to return to their villages and resume normal life, attendees to the rally said.

"Sri Lanka is attempting to destroy the Tamil community on the island, and this crime is not being effectively stopped by the UN," a protester said reflecting the frustration among Tamils to witness the premier institution which is supposed to speak for the voiceless minorities, lay paralyzed.

"While Western nations call for an investigation of war crimes, the Sri Lankan government continues to deny independent investigators and journalists’ access to war-torn areas. Sri Lankan government continues to expel aid workers who dare to speak up. The UN is unable to free its own staff members from the camp," a leaflet distributed at the protest said of UN.

While UN action against Sri Lanka remained dormant with China and Russia opposing any moves, human rights advocates faulted the mixed messages of the US and its low profile approach to Sri Lanka where the military offensive "is believed to have killed thousands of civilians."