Sri Lanka politics affect the British Hindu and Christian Tamils when it comes to their families being persecuted by the State and the British Tamil Forum (BTF) is minded to keep abreast of the developments back home. The war ended in 2009 but according to the BTF the persecution and the killings of Tamils continue.
Callum Macrae, an investigative journalist made a film of the killings and rapes of innocent civilians, women and children, after the war ended in the areas which were declared as NO FIRE ZONES. These areas where Tamils, Hindus & Christians, sought refuge in for survival were bombed and killed according to the film.
A short film clip can be viewed on the link:
http://www.distrify.com/films/6715-no-fire-zone-the-killing-fields-of-sri-lanka
A short history of the civil rights war can be seen on the link:
http://prezi.com/jez7luhd5cul/no-fire-zone-the-killing-fields-of-sri-lanka/
On 5th September 2013, After a UK Premier of the film at Curzon Cinema, Jon Snow of Channel 4 chaired a debate which in essence asked for a desperate help from the West to acknowledge the sufferings of innocent victims by investigating the Sri Lanka President Mr Rajapaksa for war crimes.
There was a call from the audience to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka in November 2013. Jon Snow explained that Canada has expressed their discomfort both Australia and Britain have said that they will go for the sake of engagement.
On 26th September 2013, at the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs meeting in New York the British Foreign Office Minister, Hugo Swire MP, raised the issue with Sril Lanka’s Foreign Minister who remains defiant, link:
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13B/Sep30_1380548927CH.php
However on 22nd September 2013 the Tamils won 30 seats out of 36 in the local elections in their districts. The elections were monitored by the UN and Indian national observers who reported them to be, on the whole, fair. Please see link:
The Tamil National Alliance claims that there was widespread intimidation of their Civilians but they achieved a good voter turnout and as a result they are very pleased with a landslide majority in these local council elections. However the Central Government has already issued ordnances curtailing their local power.
Minister of Information and government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella stated recently that Sri Lankan provincial councils, including the Tamil-dominated Northern, will not have discretion over land and police matters and they will have to operate within the existing limits of power.
The government’s firm declaration that the provincial councils would not have land or police powers betrays the master plan to dilute the island’s distinct Tamil element to its geography.
The state continues to openly take over Tamil Lands to settle Singhalese creating Singhalese communities overnight who build new Buddhist temples where Hindu Temples once stood instead of choosing new sites to build Buddhist Temples.
The Singhalese settlers & members of the armed forces, abuse Tamils in the neighborhood especially women.
Tamils who protest or complain either disappear or are threatened into silence.
They are able to continue behaving this way because the Western world has not pursued the State, under the President Mr Rajapaksas, for the war crimes committed during the last stages of the civil war, in which at least 40,000 (UN) civilians were killed.
In spite of all the after-math of the war and given the positive local election results for the Tamils their new Chief Minister for the Northern Province, Prof. Wigneswaran, has expressed hope that peace is possible. Please see link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24179990
Peace process is all our aim and it must never be derailed but equally any war crimes must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to account. Both processes should go hand in hand so that any possibility of further such crimes comes to a halt. Ultimately Peace can be achieved only through a political process which gives due and adequate representation to the Tamil minority on the island.
Siva Sivaraman – British Tamil Executive HCUK
Ravi Kumar – General Secretary BTF
Anil Bhanot – Managing Director HCUK
Amrish Patel – Hindu Advisor to the UK Government