Arrest of KP will not arrest the struggle of Tamils to win their rightful aspirations: Norwegian Tamil Forum

A media release by Norwegian Tamil Forum on the ‘Illegal arrest of KP and extraordinary rendition’ says that the arrest of KP and the 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. ‘Junta rule’ and ’Marcos types ’ are to be condemned in the strongest terms, it said.

It also expresses its fear that Mr.Pathmanathan may be subjected to extra-judicial inhuman treatment and appeals to the liberal democracies of the world to insist the Sri Lankan Government to respect international human rights law and criminal justice system.

Norwegian Tamil Forum reminds 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 their rightful,legal aspirations.

Media Release:

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 the 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.

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 300000 innocent Tamils are suffering inside barbed wires in vavuniya’s  cocentration camps without humanitarian assistance and below ’Sphere standards ’. The fact 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. 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 colonisation 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 place(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 to insist upon the Sri Lankan Government to respect International Human Rights law and criminal Justice system.

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 their rightful,legal aspirations.

Balasingham Yogarajah,
Coordinator,
Norwegian Tamil Forum