“Tamils hope that under Biden’s wise leadership, the U.S. will change its current policy regarding Sri Lanka and take the necessary steps to protect the Tamils.”
“Tamil mothers in the city of Vavuniya who have protested for the last 2,036 days, beg for information and accountability for the missing children who were taken by the Sri Lankan army in 2009.”— Tamils for Biden
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, September 12, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Tamils for Biden, an American-based Tamil diaspora group, sent a letter to President Biden on the eve of the UNHRC gathering in Geneva on September 12, 2002.
In the letter, the US Tamils asked Biden to take unilateral action against Sri Lanka, following the example of Kosovo in the late 1990s, if the UNHRC fails to prosecute the Sri Lankan war criminals.
The Sri Lankan Ethnic War lasted from 1983-2009. It was both a nationalistic and religious conflict, fought between the Buddhist Sinhalese and the Hindu Tamils on the island.
During the war, an estimated 145,000 Tamil civilians were killed, with 80,000 Tamil women widowed and 50,000 children orphaned. Over 25,000 Tamils disappeared and remain unaccounted for. Since 2009, in the words of the Tamils for Biden spokesman, there have been “countless human rights abuses, land seizures, and cultural threats perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government,” all part of what Tamils perceive to be a systematic policy of “continuous genocide.”
The group has asked President and the U.S. government to intervene, viewing it as not just a matter of prosecuting war criminals but preserving the “balance power in South Asia and the security of the region,” as China has come to have an increasing economic presence and political influence on the island during Sri Lanka’s financial crisis of 2022.
Here is the copy of the Letter:
Unilateral Actions should be taken against Sri Lanka if the UNHRC fails to prosecute Sri Lankan war crimes
September 12, 2022
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
RE: Unilateral Actions should be taken against Sri Lanka if the UNHRC fails to prosecute Sri Lankan war crimes
Dear Mr. President,
We the Tamils in the United States are writing this letter to alert you to the suffering of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka, and to request your help.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission promised to find justice for the Tamils, but it has as yet been unable to do so because of the veto power of countries like Russia and China.
It has been over thirteen years since the Ethnic War ended on the island. During this genocidal campaign, the Sri Lankan army killed 145,000 innocent Tamil civilians, left 80,000 Tamil women widowed and 50,000 children orphaned. Over 25,000 Tamils disappeared. In the Tamil homeland, the war has been followed by countless human rights abuses, land seizures, and cultural threats perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government.
There are the Tamil mothers in the city of Vavuniya who have protested for the last 2,036 days, continuing to beg for information and accountability for the missing children who were taken by the Sri Lankan army in 2009. Their pleas for justice have been met with silence by the government.
Mr. President, if the UNHRC fails to prosecute the Sri Lankan war criminals, we urge to you to take unilateral action against Sri Lanka as was done in Bosnia and Kosovo in 1998-1999. Only pressure from America, as the world leader in democracy, can put a stop to these unforgivable tragedies and this continuous genocide.
The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has made the situation especially volatile, as it has led the government to cede important strategic ports and other privileges to the Chinese. China has increasingly come to dominate the North-East of the island, further threatening the Tamil homeland and balance power in South Asia.
We hope that under your wise leadership, the U.S. will change its current policy regarding Sri Lanka and take the necessary steps to protect the Tamils and the security of the region.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Director.
Tamils for Biden
