Protest march in London against the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, 11th April 2009 Speech by Suren Surendren, BTF Chief Spokesperson

Distinguished guests, friends, fellow British Tamils, ladies and gentlemen - You have made history
today.

You have turned up in large numbers not only raising your voice for Peace but also to let Sri Lanka and the world know that we may be miles apart from our kith and kin but:
We care for our brothers and sisters back in Sri Lanka.
We feel their pain and suffering.
We are angry about the injustice and double standards applied by the International Community against our people.
We will do whatever is humanly possible to end the genocide committed by the racist state of Sri Lanka against its own citizens. More importantly, our thirst and hunger for an independent Tamil Homeland, Tamil Eelam - is alive and kicking more than any other time in the history of our struggle.

A humanitarian catastrophe is in the making as we speak back in the Tamil Homeland. Look at the ocean of people here at the Hyde Park. The same in Paris, Oslo, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland, Germany, Durban in Republic of South Africa and in Chennai – Hence the 2nd and 3rd generation Tamils have also took to the streets of London. People of Vanni are surrounded by a genocidal army. At least 300,000 lives are at stake. We, the Tamil Diaspora, have the duty to expose the true face of State Terrorism of Sri Lanka to the rest of the world. It is our duty to let the world media know the crimes against humanity committed by Rajapakshe and his brothers. Our Tamil brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children and even infants are being killed. We have to tell the world media that what is happening in the Vanni is nothing but Genocide. We need to ensure that President Rajapakshe as commandeering chief is held accountable for:

Over 400 innocent civilians who perished last week because of the use of chemical agents
Over 2,800 innocent Tamils who have died and over 7,000 Tamils who have been seriously injured during the first two and a half months of this year due to the indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment.
We will tell the facts that not many people know - Sri Lanka is the 4th country in the world to carry out aerial bombardment against its own citizens.
Mr Rajapakshe - how many hospitals have you bombed in the last 6 months? Over 10 hospitals! There will come a time where you will be asked at the International Criminal Court of Justice to account for the thousands of patients who have been killed by your bombs.

To date, at least 100,000 innocent Tamils have lost their lives in our quest for freedom and justice. Why and who killed them? Successive Sri Lankan Governments and its armed forces that need to take full responsibility for this ethnic cleansing of Tamils and the State Terrorism.
Tamil and Sinhala Kingdoms were brought together during the British rule for administrative convenience. Therefore, Britain has a moral responsibility to redress the blunder it made, by leaving the minority Tamils to be butchered and slaughtered by successive governments of Sri Lanka. We are seeking a homeland not just because we want to assert our right for self-determination; we need a homeland because we need security.

Often in the media, this conflict is reported as something that is taking place between two parties - the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Let’s not forget that Mr Prabaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was only 4 years old when the first anti Tamil riots took
place in 1958, in which hundreds and thousands of Tamils were killed and their assets were looted. Mr Prabaharan was a young boy when the state sponsored colonisation was carried out - throughout the 1960’s. Mr Prabaharan was unheard of - in the 70s - when standardisation was introduced to prevent Tamil students from entering universities and when the anti Tamil riots took place in 1977. Who burnt the Jaffna library in 1981? – It is the Sri Lankan State. Tamils know why - Jaffna library had the biggest collection of books in the whole of South East Asia, which told our history.
Who lead the anti Tamil riots in 1983? – The Sri Lankan State.

The post independence history of Tamils is full of suffering - our efforts to achieve justice and peace was met with state sponsored violence. This is why Tamils from all over the world believe in an independent homeland as the only way forward. Our struggle is not about territory, it is for territory -
This is the only way that our brothers and sisters can live in peace, security with justice and dignity.

Friends, today, I want the Sinhalese brothers and sisters of Sri Lanka to know, that Tamil Eelam will be a friendly nation to you. With your co-operation, we will bring peace and harmony to the region.

British Tamils will not stop until the International Community, including our Government, HM’s British Government, acts to end this genocide. We want our fellow citizens to understand the pain and trauma that the British Tamils are facing which lead the two young Tamils to go on hunger strike. We want the
media to tell the story of the genocide to the world. Travel to the Vanni, which you must. We want you to go to the Vanni. It is the government of Sri Lanka which vehemently prohibits for you to report from the conflict zone. What is that they have to hide?

What has our Government done so far? – Our Prime Minister has appointed the Rt. Hon. Des Brown as his special envoy to Sri Lanka. What is the Sri Lankan Government’s response to this? - Insult in anger.
Our Prime Minister is the first head of any State to call for a ceasefire. Our Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon. David Miliband along with many countries has called for a ceasefire at numerous occasions in the recent past - What is the Government of Sri Lanka doing? Ignoring the plea and continuing its bombing
indiscriminately the ‘no fire zone’ without any respect to human life! Sri Lanka, is another Rwanda and Bosnia in the making. Are we all going to stand back and watch?

We British Tamils are asking our Government - what is next? We do not want any more statements from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We want action! We want the opposition politicians to hold the Government to account. Let’s tell the Government of Sri Lanka that it is no more an internal matter but it is an international crisis. It is about time that our government and the international community understand the urgency and apply the principles of ‘responsibility to protect’. The need of the hour is a ceasefire. We call on our Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary to show leadership in securing a resolution at the United Nations to implement a ceasefire immediately. Not tomorrow not next week - but today and now - because tomorrow, it will be too late.

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