British Tamils welcome Conservatives’ voice of concern for Tamils

[BTF Press release on 02.August 2009]
British Tamils Forum welcomes the statement last week by the Conservative Party highlighting the ongoing suffering of over 280,000 Tamils held in barbed-wire ringed, militarised detention camps in Sri Lanka.
We welcome the expressions of serious concern by Rt Hon William Hague and the Conservative Party regarding the ongoing imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Tamils. We also welcome the Conservative party’s efforts to urge Sri Lanka’s ultra-nationalist government to adhere to its commitment to allow the Tamil people of Vanni back to their homes. [More......]

• BTF press release on 28.08.2009

• BTF press release on 19.08.2009

Appeal to end internment camps in Sri Lanka
 

Three months on from military victory yet the misery continues for over 300,000 Tamil civilians in the island of Sri Lanka, who remain confined in military-run internment camps, hidden from the glare of international witnesses.

The Times UK reported deplorable death tolls in these camps arising from malnutrition, widespread disease and insufficient medical facilities. With the ongoing restrictions to aid agencies and international monitors, the true extent of the risks facing these imprisoned civilians remains vastly obscured. These supposed ‘welfare camps’ lack adequate sanitation facilities and access to clean water.

As monsoon season fast approaches, heavy rains in the areas of Vavuniya District and Menik Farm have already resulted in up to 1,925 shelters being damaged or destroyed as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). [More.......]

Sri Lankan State Terror extends boundaries

Press Release on 11.08.2009 [BTF]
The Sri Lankan Government has once again exposed its arrogance as a ‘democratic state’ apparently unbound by international law and order, extending their practice of illegal abductions, kidnap, disappearances and violations of human rights with impunity, this time across international borders. The military establishment’s disrespect and disregard to international law and order in Sri Lanka is now being permitted internationally, it seems.

Recent news reports surrounding the alleged arrest of Mr Selvarasa Pathmanathan has once again bought to the foreground the Sri Lankan Government’s ability to whitewash international norms. The anomalies surrounding his kidnap and detention give rise to serious concerns over Sri Lanka’s seemingly superseding legal jurisdiction which is not restricted to the island of Sri Lanka. [More .............]

Tamil Diaspora Unites (BTF Press Release 22.07.2009)

The Global Tamil Diaspora has united to form the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), in response to the large scale massacre of Tamil civilians, internment of more than 300,000 in camps reminiscent of Nazi Germany and continuing inhumane treatment of these detainees by the Government of Sri Lanka. It is a need of the times and the first of its kind worldwide for the Tamils to speak with one voice.

This Forum will evolve as an independent, international organisation which adheres to the principles of democracy and non-violence and derives its strength from existing grassroots organisations of the Tamil Diaspora. Working in solidarity with the Tamils in Eelam and other communities in Sri Lanka, this Forum will strive to restore Tamil People’s right to self-determination and democratic self rule in their traditional homeland in the island of Sri Lanka.

The immediate goal of this Forum will be to address the plight of the Tamils interned in the camps and have their resettlement in their homes and villages expedited by generating international pressure upon the Government of Sri Lanka. The Forum will also explore avenues to bring the perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice.

Tamil organisations from all five continents are represented in this Forum and have joined hands to further this mission. [Tamil Press Release]

 Tamils march to save ‘imprisoned’ brethren in Sri Lanka [BTF 2009.06.20]

Over 100,000 people converged on the streets of London on Saturday 20 June 2009 to remember the tens of thousands that perished in the Sri Lankan state’s final onslaught against the Tamil civilians and to call for the release of 300,000 that remain under threat of death, disappearance, rape and torture in government-run internment camps.

Protesters, carrying black flags and adorned in dark attire, marched to rouse the UK and international
community into action over the following three demands:
• Stop the disappearances, rapes and torture occurring daily in the internment camps and find all those who were unaccounted for.
• Free people from the camps immediately so that they can return to their normal lives.
• Bring the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tamils to justice.
The Tamil community disappointed and embittered by the failure of the UK and other international powers, to prevent the recent carnage despite constant and repeated warnings, pleaded that the international community must at least act now decisively to save the ‘imprisoned’ civilians in these camps, who remain in grave danger. [More........] Pictures and Memorandum

British Tamils Forum endorses Independent Tamil MEP Candidate [BTF 2009.05.30]
British Tamils Forum (BTF) endorses the candidacy of Ms Jan Jananayagam, who is standing as an Independent candidate, in the forthcoming European Parliamentary Election for the London constituency, on 4 June.
Ms Jananayagam has been an ardent campaigner for human rights, with special interest in campaign against genocide.
BTF has been established to work for peace, with justice and dignity for Tamils. The Forum has found common ground between their aspirations and those of Ms Jananayagam.

BTF reiterates its non-political party affiliation and neutrality in British politics. However, the current dire situation in Sri Lanka, where the Tamils have been subjected to genocide by the brutal Sri Lankan State, has distressed the membership. After wide consultation with the membership, BTF has decided to endorse this independent candidate.
BTF believes the candidacy of Ms Jananayagam will vitalise the participation of British Tamils in the electoral process in Britain. BTF calls upon its members to actively campaign among Tamils and the larger population for the election of Ms Jananayagam to the European Parliament.   [More........]
 

Urgent Appeal to Protect Victims of Genocide [BTF Press release 27.05.2009]
 

UN estimates over 7,000 civilians, many of them children, died in the final offensive by the Sri Lankan military, however according to reliable sources the figure is likely to be as high as 25,000. The Sri Lankan State still forbids access to international free media.
“The UN confirmed this week that as many as 300,000 Tamil refugees are now jammed
into the camps dubbed "welfare villages". Western journalists have been banned from
going near them.”
Dan McDougall, Award-winning reporter, undercover in Sri Lanka’s refugee camps reported in News of the World, 24 May 2009. Posing as an aid worker, he witnessed first hand the poignant scenes at the camps; “A child no more than two-years-old toddles naked towards the razor wire imprisoning her and her family. Terrified of retribution, parents pull the child away. Many of the refugees are dressed only in rags and tattered clothing. Chicken pox and skin diseases are sweeping through the camp and hepatitis is a growing problem because of poor sanitation.”
The Sri Lankan government has, to date, rejected pleas by various governments and the Secretary- General of the UN for immediate access to humanitarian aid agencies in to the camps. Preoccupied by destroying the evidence of the genocide, the Sri Lankan State is wary about allowing independent witnesses to the Tamil homeland.
Tamils in every part of Sri Lanka are held under siege. In the North and East, they are brutalise  [More.............]

Urgent Appeal by the British Tamils Forum [BTF 2009.05.11]
The British Tamils Forum urgently appeals to the British government to do all they can to stop the massacre of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, the fatal and final stage of the genocide of Tamils.

Reliable reports received by the British Tamils Forum, from the ‘safe zone’ in Northern Sri Lanka confirms that over 3,200 civilians have been killed and thousands more have been injured in the past twenty four hours alone. Rescue workers fear that the critical shortage of medicine and lack medical facilities will add to this death toll. Sources further confirm that the Sri Lankan forces continue to bombard the ‘safe zone’ with K-fir jets, multi-barrel rocket launchers, cannons and cluster bombs.
British Tamils Forum has been in constant contact with the British political establishment, warning them of the imminent carnage unfolding in the Vanni Region, as part of this genocide. The Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP, spoke to his counterpart in Sri Lanka yesterday, the details of which, has not been disclosed........[More......]

 Statement by the Co-Chairs gives the Genocidal Government of Sri Lanka the Licence to Kill  – British Tamils Forum

The statement demonstrates that the Co-Chairs are either out of touch or colluding with Colombo to oppress the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people. Whatever the reasons may be, the statement has shattered the trust that the British Tamils and the Tamil Diaspora have placed upon their respective governments and the trust the Tamils of Sri Lanka had in the international community. British Tamils Forum wishes to urge the international community to understand that today’s statement by the Co-Chairs, will pave the way for the racist State of Sri Lanka to ethnically cleanse the Tamils.                 [Press release by BTF on 04.02.2009]