Source : Malaysiakini
K Pragalath | May 28, 09 5:28pm
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More than 100 people who attended a forum on the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka last night were left disappointed with the absence of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dr DD Ranasinghe.
The envoy had previously said that he would attend the forum held at the Bar Counil auditorium.
The participant had wanted to question Ranasinghe on his government’s alleged war crimes against the innocent civilians who were fleeing the war zone in the north of the island state.
Sri Lanka was in a war with the Tamil Tigers and last week declared victory with the death of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
The participants were also eagerly awaiting to confront the envoy after he had labelled the protesters who had gathered at an anti-Sri Lanka rally in Batu Caves on Sunday as “jokers”.
“We are the jokers who’d love to chat with him,” said DAP’s Klang parliamentarian Charles Santiago.
“We resolve to call for a public apology from the Sri Lankan high commissioner,” he added.
He was among the four speakers who spoke at the forum entitled ‘Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis – What Next?’
The other speakers were S Pasupathi from the World Tamil Relief Fund – which organised the Sunday rally, A Kanesalingam of Tamil Relief Fund and lawyer R Sivarasa, who is also PKR’s Subang MP.
Hosted by the Malaysian Bar, the forum was meant to identify ways to assist the Tamil minority community in Sri Lanka.
Malaysian policy blasted
In his talk, Santiago identified the failure of the United Nations that key to the current humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka.
“The UN had access to satellite photos to show that genocide was taking place, but they did nothing.
“UN has to play a role. In Rwanda they sent a peacekeeping force. Why not in Sri Lanka?” he asked
He also blasted the Malaysian government for its non-interference police in Sri Lanka.
He said the government practiced double standards in this policy as it had previously openly supported for the UN intervention in Bosnia in the early 1990s.
He slammed the government’s silence on the Sri Lankan issue, calling it an extension of the government’s policy to marginalise Indians abroad as well.
Sivarasa meanwhile remarked that “there has been failure of politics in Sri Lanka”.
“A struggle defined by race will fail,” he stressed.
“We must find support among the the people of Sri Lanka, regardless of race and religion. Sri Lanka has to be a functioning democracy,” he added.
He also said that the global Tamil diaspora had a key role to play in rebuilding Sri Lanka.
Promises undelivered
Tamil Relief Fund’s Kanesalingam, who was the first speaker, outlined the history of Sri Lanka, stressing that the nation first became a unitary state only after the British had colonised the island.
Prior to that, he said the Portuguese and Dutch had administered the state as three provinces which allowed the Tamils to have their own administration.
Pasupathi touched on the peaceful situation that he had witnessed in the northern part of the island when he last visited it in 2002.
“Things were very peaceful. The people were going on with their lives. They had their own administration,” he said, adding it was so different now after the Sri Lankan army onslaught to the LTTE controlled area.
He also said that the previous Sri Lankan government had failed to deliver their promises for peace and equality.
The question-and-answer session that followed saw some participants asking pointed questions and making strong recommendations on how to help the affected Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Tamil Foundation representative and Malaysia Indru editor Jiwi Kathiah called for a mass protest to be organised to pressure the Malaysian government to act.
Where are the others?
He was also frustrated by the absence of main political leaders in the country to raise the issue.
“Where are Anwar, Kit Siang and Zaid Ibrahim?” he asked.
Sivarasa responded by stating that PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim had made several statements against the atrocities but it was not highlighted by the press.
Santiago also revealed that the Penang DAP has started funds for the victims in Sri Lanka.
He however admitted that there was a need to enlighten the Chinese and Malays over the issue.
Other members of the audience had other ideas as well. One said the matter should be brought to the attention of US president Barack Obama.
Another, Jerit’s Y Kohila, suggested for the formation of a joint committee against humanitarian atrocities.
Charles Santiago 
28 May, 2009 at 10:20 pm
And what has happened to all the so called Ceylonese and their organisations? The least they can do is offer a prayer at Scot Road temple purportedly a ceylonese temple and invite the Tamils originally from south india who have been showing their own displeasure by various means to pray for the thousands who have perished so far.
29 May, 2009 at 8:53 am
By calling people “jokers” goes to show he doesn’t give 2cents about the Sri Lankan issue….!!!
By “no interference” of the Malaysian goverment goes to show “how many cents” they think of the Sri Lankan issue……!!!
No need to go all the way to Sri Lanka, ok……!!!
Just look at our Tamil people here is enough……!!!!
Solve our own “backyard” problem first…!!!
I know it’s never easy when it comes to humanitarian….
We “deserve” a right to live…
Why is it that our goverment made such a “BIG” issue on Palastine & decide “not” to interfer in the Sri Lankan issue……???
Mmmmmmmmmmmm……….!
I wonder….
29 May, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Fully agree with Bro. Ken Lee, where are the so called Ceylonese, and the big doctors and lawyers and professionals, and all the mammies and ammaammas and apaapas, who are Tamils but don’t want to be Indians.What are you waiting for?
DO SOME THING NOW.
29 May, 2009 at 3:17 pm
A diplomat who does not understand the meaning of diplomacy.Where are the so called multi racial leaders of PAKATAN? Because of this kind of hypocritcal nature of them is precisely why Hindraf have to fight for the Indians on its own.During elections these leaders never failed to subscribe to the clarion call of ‘makkal sakthi’after that go into oblivion.
A diplomat called malaysian citizens as ‘jokers’,Sri Lanka is insulting Malaysia actually and our leaders are quiet.This a great insult to each and every peace loving citizen of Malaysia,including the govt.
30 May, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Sri Lanka war against LTTE is actually is a war against Tamils. Its just a re-play of the Nazi game.
30 May, 2009 at 11:18 pm
I am deeply disappointed that a majority of council members – including China, South Africa, and Uruguay – ignored the call for accountability and justice for victims .Instead, the resolution adopted reaffirms the principle of non-interference in the domestic jurisdiction(http://www.warwithoutwitness.com) of states, a step backward for the Human Rights Council. It is licensed for genocide. Also the jury system in srilanka is always favour to sinnhala majority.
“The Human Rights Council did not even express its concern for the hundreds of thousands of people facing indefinite detention in government camps. The council ignored urgent needs and wasted an important chance to promote human rights.
What a shame on India,Russia,china,japan,southafrica and many other UN countries supporting a TERROR FAILED STATE OF SRILANKA. It is not war on terror, SYSTEMATIC GENOCIDE OF TAMILS CARRYING OUT FOR THE LAST 61 YEARS by srilankan government . (See this history of Massacreshttp://www.ibctamil.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/neshor.pdf.)Please forget all the politics and economical Tie at this time.Please change your thinking in the name of humanity, human rights and brotherhood of fellow tamil citizens. The President Rajapaksha regime is desperate to show themselves as the true ‘liberators’ of the Tamils and hence the spin-doctoring of the humanitarian mask, while the civilian Tamil population is going through a humanitarian catastrophe.Tamil civilians are not in a position to trust their lives with the Sinhala army.
Around uncountable males were murdered and uncountable females were taken for sexual abuse among the thousands of civilians so far fled and screened by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), accused Tamil National Alliance MP S. Gajendranand and reported by Channal4 uk,sky news,BBC and many NGO’s citing information they received from the inmates of internment camps and from his contacts in Vavuniyaa. The sources informed them that murdered were secretly buried in isolated singala area. “Unless there is no immediate international supervision and international monitors, situation turning into another Yugoslavia cannot be prevented.
The separation of young men and women ‘wanted’ by the SLA reportedly takes place during the screening process at the so-called ‘IDP rescue centres’ in the war zone, entirely manned by military personnel.
In mid-90’s hundreds of civilians who got into the hands of the SLA in Jaffna were missing after capture from LTTE.Mass graves of the massacred became known later in a place at Chemma’ni in the Jaffna peninsula by srilankan Army.Several instances of rape and murder were proven, whilst the vast majority were not investigated. Those convicted were later released.
Since independence, Tamils have been killed and oppressed by all successive Sri Lankan Sinhala governments(GOSL). Tamils fought peacefully for more than 30 years. They negotiated with GOSL and several pacts were signed but latter seen them torn off at the opposition of the Sinhala people. Tamils were denied Jobs, education, evicted from their lands to give them to Sinhalese. Then LTTE came into the scene. It was created by GOSL’s mistreatment of the Tamils. You all know what happened in Rwanda. Same thing is happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka and the international community must take action to save them. I think it is relevant to give what Sinhala leaders said about Tamils here. (1) First GOSL president said to London Telegraph “the more I starve the Tamil people, Sinhalese people will be happy and I don’t have time to think about Tamil’s opinion” (2). Army commander Mr. Fonseka said to National post “this country belongs to Sinhala budhists. (http://www.warwithoutwitness.com)Tamils can live here, but can’t demand any thing because there are minorities”. ‘War on terrorism” is an old chapter from the book ‘Bush Doctrine’. President Obama has re written it with appropriate changes. Sri Lankan president Mahinda and Brother’s has been using this term to abolish and suppress the minority Tamil community in the island.
If you still don’t think that International community should intervene in this matter, then you are one of those people who don’t believe in the holocaust or Rwandan mass murders.
The international community’s response to the genocide in srilanka is very disappointing. They repeatedly talk about child recruitments and Human bomb by tigers. Now there are nothing to talk about LTTE. Before they defeat the LTTE srilanka said Ltte force the people join to LTTE. But most of the young boys and girls those left the fighting and moved to government control area are been raped, tortured and killed. Also children, elderly, women are killed I.C is taking their sweet time before any action is taken. Imagine yourselves and families in that position and think what will you do to protect them. You don’t actually have to be connected to these people. We are all human beings some people might have forgot about it. But there are lot more people who did not. This is a humanitarian crisis. Who ever hates war please join with these people and support them for Tamil Eelam, what they call as a solution What about the responsibility to protect. If srilanka is denying these atrocities why can’t they let observers in to the war zones & the camps?
I urge the Sri Lankan government to allow national and international independent observers in to monitor the situation and prevent further ill-treatment of civilians, including torture and arbitrary detention. Other measures to protect those displaced must be put in place too, including a proper registration process, to safeguard against abuses such as enforced disappearances.
Also, Me ,My family and my community very disturbed by reports of sexual abuses and other atrocities taking place in the Government run detainment camps. The Sri Lankan army should be kicked out of these camps and the international community needs to take care of them and resettle them immediately in their home towns. Or Let’s our community take care of them. Also, go for a UN monitored referendum in order for the Tamils to determine their political future.
29 December, 2009 at 6:07 pm
[…] self serving resolutions at the United Nations) and why Yang Berkhidmat Charles Santiago’s plea on behalf of the Tamils of Sri Lanka was firmly rebuffed by UMNO […]