South African Tamils rally for Eezham Tamils' rights

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 June 2008, 00:46 GMT]
Tamils in South Africa on Saturday gathered for Pongku Thamizh rally at the Arena Park Regional Hall, in Chatsworth, where they pledged to support the Eezham Tamils' right to statehood, and urged the international community to voice for the Tamils’ rights.

Guest speakers at the event were Deputy Mayor of Ethekwini, Logie Naidoo, and MEC for Sports and Recreation, Mr. A Rajbansi, both of whom spoke out against what they called the “selective morality” of the international community regarding the Tamil freedom struggle.

The key speaker was Dr. Brian Seneviratne, a Australia-based Sinhala expatriate physician, who is supportive of Tamils right to self-determination.

“My agenda is to bring peace to that country and more important than that, peace with justice,” he said. He characterised the current situation in Sri Lanka as “the slide of a democracy into a fascist dictatorship.”

Being a member of the Bandaranaike family, he has rejected their oppressive policies against the Tamils. For more than 3 decades, he has been condemning the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and has been advocating a separate Tamil state.

Dr. Senewiratne said that South Africa has the potential to play a pivotal role in the resolution of the Sri Lankan conflict because it is one of very few countries that has no agenda where Sri Lanka is concerned.

He also discussed the importance of India, Tamil Nadu in particular, becoming actively involved in protecting the interests of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Program Director was, Mala Lutchmanan, a local radio personality.

A declaration was made, seeking the International Community to recognise Tamils right to self - determination and recognising the LTTE as the legitimate sole representatives also in the future negotiations.

The declaration further urged the international community to seek a just solution and to put an immediate end to the genocide of the Tamils.



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