TDC in London Appealed to Govt.

(January, 09, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Regretfully, CFA is abrogated at the time when All Party Representative Committee (APRC) in seriously formulating a political framework to address the legitimate grievances of the minority communities. It is unfortunate that the CFA is jettisoned by the government at the time when APRC is about to release its proposals. We are unable to comprehend why the government rushed to abrogate the CFA before APRC proposal is released. Government’s effort has weakened the implementation of the APRC outcome and it is condemnable.

1. Assassination of the Parliamentarian:

The Tamil Democratic Congress condemns the assassination of the opposition parliamentarian T Maheswaran in the early hours of New Years day near the sanctum sanctorum of a revered Hindu temple in Colombo. This grotesque political killing is a testimony that Sri Lanka is fast progressing to become a leading nation for serious human rights violations. The government is unable and is unwilling to bring an end to these crimes and such acts of violence are continuing unabated without impunity.

The TDC demands an independent and transparent inquiry to be conducted without any political interference. We welcome the decision of the President to conduct an inquiry, but are concerned that this inquiry too will encounter stalemate like many other inquiries.

Using violence to achieve political ends has become a culture in Sri Lanka and this process is causing serious degeneration of the civil society and undermining the growth of democracy in Sri Lanka.

We appeal to all those concerned to put pressure on the government to conduct investigations conclusively and to produce criminals before the Courts of Justice.

We also appeal to the government to provide regular updates on all the investigations undertaken on human rights violations and announce a time scale for the conclusion of T Maheswaran’s murder inquiry.

2. Unilateral abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) by the government:

It is our position that a political resolution to accommodate the minority communities is the way forward to resolve the conflict in Sri Lanka. The President since his election in November 2005 has focussed on military solution to the conflict and is contributing towards the escalation of violence in the country.

Regretfully, CFA is abrogated at the time when All Party Representative Committee (APRC) in seriously formulating a political framework to address the legitimate grievances of the minority communities. It is unfortunate that the CFA is jettisoned by the government at the time when APRC is about to release its proposals. We are unable to comprehend why the government rushed to abrogate the CFA before APRC proposal is released. Government’s effort has weakened the implementation of the APRC outcome and it is condemnable.

3. Violent conduct of government minister:

The TDC appeals to the President to carryout an independent and impartial inquiry into the violent behaviour of the Labour Minister Mervin Silva at the state television station. The government has not made any sincere efforts to investigate the incident independently and have left the matter to the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party committee to investigate. Such serious criminal conduct cannot be limited to a political party inquiry. It is regretted that determined efforts are being made by the government to allow the Minister to continue in office and a process of victimisation is undertaken against the Rupavahini TV staff.