NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, May 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is pleased to announce that a former Senior Advisor to the UN Secretariat and a former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of State Prof David Philips will Deliver the 10th Mullivaikal Memorial Lecture.
The Memorial Lecture is named after the location called Mullivaikal, on the island of Sri Lanka, where according to the UN Internal Review Report around 70 thousand Tamils were killed in the final six months of the war, and Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by the Sri Lankan Security Forces.
Video: Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: https://youtu.be/3aBLl_M3z40
* WHEN: May 18 (Saturday)– Tamil National Day of Mourning.
* TIME 7 – 9 pm – (New York time).
* WHERE: New York City, USA.
Address: Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Queens, NY 11354
* Watch Live: www.tgte.tv
* TGTE has declared May 18 as the Tamil National Day of Mourning of the Tamil Nation.
The genocide committed against the Tamil Nation that unfolded in Mullivaikal has left an indelible mark on the psyche of the Tamil People. Thus, we feel that we must remember and learn from these terrible events because the fight for history is also a fight for the present day and indeed a fight for our people today. The “Mullivaikal Memorial Lecture” was inaugurated in the above context.
1) Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark delivered the Inaugural Memorial Lecture on May 18, 2015.
2) Alan Nairn who was instrumental in East Timor’s Referendum that led to the independence of East Timor delivered the 2nd memorial Lecture.
3) Dr. Alush Gashi who played a significant role in the independence of Kosovo delivered the third memorial lecture.
4) Renowned international lawyer Heather Ryan delivered the fourth memorial lecture.
5) Mr. Ladu Jada Gubek, who played a major role in South Sudan’s Referendum that led to the independence of that country delivered the fifth lecture.
6) Former President of East Timor and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta delivered the sixth lecture.
7) Former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng delivered the seventh lecture.
8) Former President of Armenia Honorable Armen Sarkissian delivered the eighth lecture.
9) Former UN official Mr. Gordon Weiss who served in Sri Lanka during the war delivered the 9th annual Mullivaikal Memorial Lecture.
NO FIRE ZONE WAS CREATED IN MULLIVAIKAL BY THE SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT. IT WAS USED BY THE SECURITY FORCES TO TRAP TAMILS AND KILL THEM:
As the war was raging, the Sri Lankan Government announced that it was setting up a place called “No Fire Zone” in an area called Mullivaikal and urged Tamils to assemble for safety and committed that the area designated as No Fire Zone would not be attacked.
Believing the Government’s assurance Tens of thousands of Tamils assembled in this “No Fire Zone” for safety. As Tamils assembled in this area, Sri Lankan forces trapped them and continuously bombed and shelled this area. It also restricted food and medicine, resulting in several deaths of starvation and the injured bled to death due to lack of medicine. Sri Lankan Security forces also attacked internationally protected areas like hospitals and food distribution centers.
Repeated appeals by the UN and several world leaders to stop the bombing and shelling of No Fire Zone were rejected by the Sri Lankan Government.
Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community.
Video: Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: https://youtu.be/3aBLl_M3z40
UN REPORTS:
Due to the scale of the killings, then UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, established a three-person committee to investigate and report on the international crimes committed during the final six months of the war.
According to the UN investigation around 40 thousand Tamils were killed in the final six months of the war and Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by the Sri Lankan Security forces.
UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, which was established to find UN activities during the war, reported that around 70 thousand Tamils were killed and unaccounted for during the final six months of the war.
Both UN reports classified the atrocities committed amount to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity and called for International Investigation. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.
FIFTEEN YEARS HAVE PASSED BUT NO JUSTICE:
Even though the UN Human Rights Council passed several Resolutions, urging Sri Lanka to establish Hybrid Courts consisting of international judges and prosecutors to investigate international crimes, the Sri Lankan Government refused to implement those Resolutions.
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has urged that Sri Lanka be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Also, four former UN High Commissioners for Human Rights, nine UN experts, and all the members of the UN Secretary General’s Expert Panel on Sri Lanka Jointly urged Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Around two million people from around the world also signed a petition calling to Refer Sri Lanka to the ICC.
BACKGROUND OF THE CONFLICT:
Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka faced repeated mass killings in 1958, 1977, and 1983 and the mass killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of the killings.
According to the UN internal review report on Sri Lanka, over 70 thousand Tamils were killed in six months in early 2009 and Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by the Sri Lankan Security forces.
International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in February 2017 handed over details to the UN of Sri Lankan Military-run “Rape Camps”, where Tamil women are being held as “sex slaves”.
Also, according to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office report in April 2013, there are over 90 thousand Tamil war widows in Sri Lanka.
Thousands of Tamils disappeared, including babies and children. UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances stated in 2020 that the second highest number of enforced disappearance cases in the world is from Sri Lanka.
According to this UN report, the killings and other abuses that took place amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.
Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community.
Tamils overwhelmingly voted in a Parliamentary election in 1977 to establish an independent and sovereign country called Tamil Eelam. This Parliamentary election was conducted by the Sri Lankan Government.
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
+ 16142023377
r.thave@tgte.org
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