Mr.Selvarasa Pathmanathan , the newly appointed Secretary General of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the promoter of the recently initiated ’Transnational Government of the Eelam Tamils ’ is said to have been illegally arrested in the ’little India area’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and extraordinarily rendered to Sri Lanka by the Intelligence Unit of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces with the assistance of the Intelligence personnel of Malaysia and possibly state of Singapore.
He has in the recent time tried to steer a politico-diplomatic course to win over the inherent and inalieanable right of self-determination of the Tamil peoples of Eelam and has been acting with determination towards that end. This abominable act of extra-ordinary rendition may set a very bad precedence in the South which is already fraught with Human and Fundamental Rights violations.
Asia has not been an example in this world on respecting the rights of the people, there are many countries which can be examples of not respecting human rights, stating India, Pakistan, China,Malaysia,Indonesia and few more others.
Today Malaysia a country were there are several million tamils, who gave their blood for the economic development of this country has shown clearly it is not a country were rights of the people are respected.
Supporting a country like Sri Lanka is like being partners for the crime against humanity committed and being committed by Sri Lanka.
Citizens of the world would appreciate that there are legally accepted principles and ’due process’ in the matter of arrests locally and ’Extradition’ internationally. In this regard ’junta rule’ and ’Marcos types ’ are to be condemned in the strongest terms. Asian countries do not need another bad example as they already have ’Burma’ to contend with in their region.
It is heartrending that more than 300,000 innocent Tamils are suffering inside barbed wire fence in Vavuniya’s concentration camps without humanitarian assistance and below ’Sphere standards ’.
The sad fact is that India, UN and the International community which were encouraging these innocent people to come out of Vanni are least worried about their well being except issuing cliched statements. UNESCO who were condemning recrutement of child soldiers are silent even though there are thousands of childrens separated from their families or has become orphans. UNHCR is silent even though they know very well the exact number of people killed in the region betwwen Mannar and Mullivaikaal.
UN Special Rapporteurs on ’extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions/ Torture,and other cruel,degrading treatment and punishments/ Violence against Women and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for children and Armed Conflict seem to have been silenced with LTTE silencing their guns. Sinhala colonization is following in the traditional Tamil homeland at rapid pace after the structural violence and the genocide staged in Vanni.
We fear that Mr.Pathmanathan may be subjected to extra-judicial inhuman treatment or punishment in the undisclosed destination(according to the Sri Lanka Minister Keheliya Rambukwela), where he is held outside the purview of ICRC and appeal to the liberal democracies of the world and International Human Rights Organizations to insist upon the Sri Lankan Government to respect International Human Rights law and criminal Justice system. And its also the same conditions for the several thousand surrendered cadres and political leaders of the LTTE, who are not even registered by the ICRC or listed by any other juridicial organisations.
We would like to remind the Sri Lankan Government that the arrest of Selvarasa Pathmanathan will not arrest the struggle of the Tamil Peoples in Eelam and all over the world to win over rightful,legal aspirations.
The resistance will continue till the recognition of the democratic rights for which the Tamils voted for since 1977 and also for which all militants groups made a political declaration in 1985, recognition of the Tamils as a nation, recognition of the existence of an identified homeland for the Tamils of Sri Lanka, recognition of the right of self determination of the Tamil nation, recognition of the right of citizenship and the fundamental rights of all Tamils who look upon the Island as their country.
The Eelam Tamils through the results of the recent elections have reiterated their attachment to the option for a true peace, but affirms the right of the Tamil people to resistance in all its forms against the occupation of their lands, according to international laws.They have affirmed that nothing or no one can stop their resistance till the liberation of their lands and the dismantaling of the settlements and the return of the deplaced and refugees to their homeland.
The House of Eelam Tamils - France
La Maison du Tamil Eelam- France
contact: eelamakkalperavai gmail.com