1st February 2009

Press Release for New Zealand Tamil Society (Auckland), Wellington Tamil Society and Canterbury Tamil Society

Kiwi Tamils to hold vigils throughout New Zealand on 4th February for their trapped, starving and dying families in northern Sri Lanka

The whole of the Kiwi Tamil community is in utter despair and is desperate for peace in the Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka.

Many, many Kiwi Tamils have families and friends trapped by the fighting in the Vanni region. Limited telephone communication with families in Vanni reinforces that fact that countless civilians being killed by Sri Lankan military while they are in so-called ‘safe zones’. We read about civilians bleeding on the streets, with no medical attention available. Children are short of food and do not have even drinking water.

The saddest part of all of this is that this situation is entirely avoidable.

The Sri Lankan government is refusing the United Nations, aid agencies and the media to have access to the trapped and dying civilians. The need for proper access has been repeatedly stated by governments, aid agencies and human rights groups.

Kiwi Tamils are fearful of publicly talking about the identity of their family and friends who have been killed or displaced in northern Sri Lanka, as it may provoke reprisals against their remaining family members in Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan government. Nevertheless on 4th February Kiwi Tamils will be holding vigils throughout New Zealand for their trapped, starving and dying families and friends.

The vigils throughout New Zealand have two purposes. First is to show our solidarity with the victims in northern Sri Lanka. Second is to take our message to the wider public in New Zealand. And our message is very simple: The Sri Lankan government has no right to stop the UN and international aid agencies from having full access to the trapped, starving and dying civilians in the Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government cannot be trusted to ensure the safety of ‘safezones’.

This task must be given to the United Nations.

So far Kiwi Tamils have taken this message to New Zealanders via national television, national radio and community newspapers. The Labour Party has put out a press release (“Protecting Civilians Must Be Priority in Sri Lanka”) as has the Green Party (“NZ should act on Sri Lankan humanitarian disaster”).

The New Zealand Council for International Development put out a press release (“Escalating humanitarian crisis threatens 250,000”) stating:

“A recently released report from the New York-based Genocide Prevention Project places Sri Lanka on its 'red-alert' list of countries where existing tensions or human rights abuses could escalate into systematic mass atrocity crimes such as genocide.”

Global Peace and Justice Auckland put out a press release (“Protest Against Sri Lankan Army's Tamil Genocide”) stating:

“We are appealing to the new Foreign Minister Murray McCully to speak out against massacres of Tamils in Sri Lanka. We want him to make a direct appeal to the Sri Lankan government to reign in its troops who are engaged in a thinly disguised genocide of the civilian population in the North-East of Sri Lanka.”

Kiwi Tamils are calling on the New Zealand government to support the call of many other governments that the Sri Lankan government allow the United Nations and international aid agencies to have full and immediate access to the trapped civilians.

Kiwi Tamils are also calling on the New Zealand government to work with the United National Security Council to implement United Nations run safe havens in northern Sri Lanka. The Norwegian government has stated:

“Civilians fleeing the fighting must be given decent conditions and treated with respect, under the supervision of UN and other international observers.”

4th February Vigil Details: Auckland: 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm, Aotea square (Queen Street) Wellington: 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm, Queens Wharf / procession to Parliament Christchurch: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Triangle Centre / Cathedral Square

Background: Tamils have made New Zealand home since the 1960s. You will find over one thousand Tamil families now living in all parts of New Zealand, where they make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s overall culture and to the economy. Tamils place a high value on education and their presence is likely to be seen across a range of professions, including medicine, accountancy and the IT industry. Most Tamils in New Zealand have extended families living in war torn Sri Lanka and have been adversely affected by the decades old war. Today a thriving Tamil community is now suggesting that New Zealand has an important part to play in bringing peace to Sri Lanka.

© Scoop Media