Tamil groups urge New Zealand not to host SL President

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 October 2011, 10:30 GMT]
Tamil Action Front (TAF), an umbrella organisation of Eezham Tamil associations in New Zealand have urged the NZ government on Tuesday not to host Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa who plans a stopover in Auckland to watch Rugby Final Match and to be accorded with a dinner on Sunday on his way to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet in Perth, Australia. Accusing the NZ government for being tagged behind Australia in accepting war-crimes-accused as ambassadors, TAF in a letter to the NZ Foreign Minister urged the NZ government to support prosecution against the accused in the Australian court, independent international investigation of SL war crimes, suspension of Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth and to work for the appointment of a Commissioner for Human Rights in the Commonwealth.

Concerned about according Sri Lanka undue diplomatic advantages in CHOGM by hosting its president and delegation en route, the TAF said, “We would strongly urge you not to accord them any diplomatic courtesies as it would turn out to be an indelible blot on your clean sheet of valuing democracy, inherent dignity of every human being and the human rights dictum.”

TAF accused the NZ government for accepting war-crimes-accused as SL High Commissioners, by tagging it behind Australia.

“When the name of Rear Admiral Tissara Samarasinghe was in the news media as possible Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Australia with coverage of New Zealand, we strongly objected to that appointment on grounds of his alleged involvement in war crimes.”

“You were voiceless when Australia accepted him amidst strong protests from victims of his actions and human rights activists in Australia.”

“Australia was insensitive to the protests made against an earlier appointment of Sri Lankan High Commissioner – the late Brig. Gen. Janaka Perera, the architect of the Chemmani Mass Grave among other heinous crimes. We protested even then and New Zealand was helpless when Australia accepted him,” the TAF letter said.

The TAF letter signed by its Joint Coordinator Neil Ahilakumaran elucidated on the kind of genocide and unabated, multi-faceted, structural genocide committed by State in Sri Lanka on Eezham Tamils.