Marking a year of continuous protests in search of their loved ones, relatives of forcibly disappeared in the north and east of Sri Lanka called upon international powers to come to their assistance.
Tamils from Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Mullaitivu districts who came to Kilinochchi town were certain that their family members taken to custody by security forces are still alive.
“Foreign nations that assisted the government to conduct a war, have a duty to come and help us find our children who disappeared after they were taken by the military,” said several mothers
Many global powers including the US, UK, India, Israel, Pakistan and China helped Sri Lanka in the war that concluded in a massacre in 2009.
'Soft diplomacy'
Tamils fleeing the war were compelled to hand over thousands of their family members who were alive to the military and many others were abducted.
“We have evidence to prove that they are alive. If not, the government should tell us what happened to them”.
Several Tamil civil society organisations echoing the sentiment of the relatives have urged the international community and institutions take responsibility for finding a solution to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka.
“The international community’s ‘soft diplomacy’ approach to Sri Lanka has only served to allow the government to place issues of truth, justice and accountability on the back-burner,” says a joint statement by the organisations.
Source : JDS
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