Diaspora Tamils in Germany exhibit humanitarian aid

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2008, 08:54 GMT]
More than 3,000 Eelam Diaspora Tamils in Germany, organised by 16 Tamil organisations, demonstrated on Friday through a central part of Berlin, exhibiting humanitarian supplies that they have collected to be sent to their kith and kin in Vanni, urging the International Community to facilitate transport from Colombo to Vanni.



The demonstrators carried placards and distributed leaflets blaming the Sri Lankan government's for carrying out a 'genocidal war without witnesses'.

The various groups that contributed to the collection of medicines, clothes, non-perishable foods and other essential items have published an open appeal to the German agencies engaged in refugee relief work in Sri Lanka, urging them to enable a 'bridge of humanitarian solidarity'. The appeal was handed over to the UNHCR office in Berlin and sent to other NGO's in Germany and elsewhere, according to the organisors.

The organisors said they have cautioned diaspora Tamil activists in other countries to monitor the result of their campaign before undertaking similar collections of humanitarian supplies.

Full text of the open appeal from the Tamil diaspora organisations in Germany follows:

Open Letter to the International NGO's and those engaged in refugee relief work in Sri Lanka

The Tamil refugees in Germany and their friends are very disturbed by the situation facing our brothers and sisters in the 'Vanni'. They face a terrible fate because the Sri Lankan government has launched its 'final war' to capture this area - in the North of the island. A large part of this region - the area just above Vavuniya on the map – is being administered by the Tamil Tigers. The clearest signal of the impending massacre has been the Government's order for all the international NGO's to vacate the area. And as the humanitarian INGO's have now left the area, the international community has lost its eyes and years, while hundreds of thousand of people face starvation and death.

As the 100% Sinhala Sri Lankan army advances towards Kilinochchi, the area is bombarded with multi-barrel rocket launchers, helicopter gunships and fast flying jet fighters. The infrastructure that administers a population the size of Iceland is being hit by aerial bombardment along with the political offices of the Tamil Tigers, which played a crucial role during the Norwegian facilitated peace process (from 2002 till 2006). Such is the confidence of the Sri Lankan government and military that the international community will tolerate their actions, its spokesmen are using terms in the international media that is normally reserved for Sinhala language press.

The Sri Lankan army commander Sarath Fonseka stated in the Canadian press that he does not believe that minorities have the right to make demands and that 'I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese….' and a few days ago the President, Mahinda Rajapakse expressed his idea of democracy in the Al Jazeera TV channel saying that after total military victory 'we will re-educate' the Tamil people.

It is clear to all that the Sri Lankan government is pursuing a full-scale military onslaught to destroy the Tigers within the next few months. But the LTTE is primarily a guerrilla force – and cannot be destroyed in this way.

Further, the deep-seated ethnic conflict rooted on the oppression of the Tamil people cannot be solved militarily but needs a political solution. So in fact the real consequences of the offensive of the Sri Lankan armed forces is effectively a collective punishment for the 300,000 Tamil people who opted to live in a LTTE administered area.

We, many of us refugees ourselves, cannot stand idly by and simply observe this unfolding tragedy. We are collecting relief material (medicines, clothes, non perishable food items etc.) to be sent to the internally displaced refugees in the Vanni.

We are urgently looking for partners within the NGO and humanitarian community in Europe and in Sri Lanka who will be willing to struggle with us get this material to the displaced people in the Vanni.

Together we can build a bridge of humanitarian solidarity, which will save the lives of thousands of people.

10.10.08

Supported by: Internale Bewegung für tamilische Kultur Deutschland e.V
Metelener Str 39, 48493 Wettringen

Pungudithivu Marumalatchi Onriyam e.V
Postfach 2129, 48411 Reine

Deutsch - Tamilischer KulturSport Verein Reine e.V
Postfach 1303, 48431 Reine

Sri lanka Tamilen Unterstüzung Verein Ennepetal e.V
Milsper str.101, 58256

Ennepetal Eelam Tamils Welfare Association Berlin e.V
Wickeder Str. 8, 13507 Berlin

Tamil Mantram Frankfurt e.V
Ben-Gurio-Ring 10, 60437 Frankfurt

International Union Emigrated Tamil Writers Germany e.V
Bromberg Str.8, 46145 Oberhausen

Tamilische Kultur und Wohlfahrts Verein Essen e.V
Leimgardtsfeld- 40, 45355 Essen

Srikatpakavinagager Alayam e.v.
Frankfurt

Hindu Kultur und Tradtion Verein e.v
Frankfurt

United Tamilische Sports Club e.v
Stuttgart

Tamilicher Kultur Verein
Saarland

Tamilischer Kultur Verein
Leverkusen

Vereinigung der tamilischen Organisationen e.V


Tamilischer Kultuer Verein
Wuppertal

Induma Manram
Wuppertal