Solidarity groups launch Social Media Campaign!
In the past China and Pakistan have led the campaign to oppose any such
Resolution against Sri Lanka.
( February 28, 2014, Geneva, Sri Lanka Guardian) Transnational solidarity groups have launched a Social Media Campaign, using Facebook and Twitter, to call for an International Investigation on Sri Lanka at the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council session in March.
Already United National High Commissioner Pillai has called for an International Investigation for Sri Lanka. Several international organizations like International Crisis Group, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are also campaigning for International investigation.
In a powerful endorsement to this investigation, Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council has unanimously adopted a Resolution calling for an International Investigation to investigate War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide.
So far the call to establish an International investigation was advocated only by International NGO’s and diaspora groups like Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). This is the first time; Tamils within Sri Lanka through their elected representatives have called for such an investigation.
There are reports that several countries are planning to introduce a Resolution at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council Session calling for an international investigation for Sri Lanka.
In the past China and Pakistan have led the campaign to oppose any such Resolution against Sri Lanka.
The call for international investigation is to investigate killings that took place in the final months of the war between Sri Lankan Government and Tamil rebels called Tamil Tigers.
According to a UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, troops under the Sri Lankan President's command, killed over 70,000 Tamils in five months in 2009, mainly due to bombing and shelling of Tamils who were cornered into places designated by the Sri Lankan Government as “No-Fire Zones.” Food and medicine were also restricted to the trapped Tamils resulting in several died of starvation, sickness and many of the injured bleeding to death.
There are also reports of sexual violence against Tamil women by Sri Lankan Security forces. According to a May 2012 report by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Human Rights and Democracy; there are up to 90,000 Tamil war widows in the North & East of Sri Lanka.
UK’s Channel 4 has produced series of documentaries on mass killing of Tamils during the war.
