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Defender of Tamil sovereignty selected for Queen's Jubilee medal in Canada

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 June 2012, 11:13 GMT]
Krisna Saravanamuttu, a second generation Eezham Tamil youth activist in Canada, is set to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal next month. The 26-year-old Mr. Saravanamuttu, who was nominated for this award for his work within the Tamils in Canada and the broader Canadian community by Cabinet Minister in charge of Training, Colleges and Universities Mr. Glen Murray, has been in the forefront advocating the need for an independent international investigation into the war crimes and genocide of Eezham Tamils by Sri Lanka. He has also been demanding a referendum among the Eezham Tamils on the basis of historical, earned and remedial aspects of Tamil sovereignty as the only means to check the protracted genocide of the Eezham Tamil nation.

Glen Murray, Cabinet Minister from the Ontario Liberal Party told TamilNet, “Krisna has provided outstanding leadership in Canada's student movement, in his advocacy with the United Nations for justice for Tamils around the world and his leadership in building youth organizations committed to social justice and human equality.”

“He is one of our countries emerging leaders and demonstrates the personal integrity that has earned him the trust of so many and allowed him to accomplish so much,” he further said.

Mr. Saravanamuttu will be receiving his award from the Minister with 14 others on the 3rd of July. Altogether, 60,000 Canadians will be getting the medal for their services to that country.

Speaking to TamilNet, Mr. Saravanamuttu, who is also currently the national spokesperson for the NCCT, said that his experience in working with activists in the student movement through the York Federation of Students and the Canadian Federation of Students remained pivotal to his own development as a political organiser. He added that he learned the links between different occupied nations and the Tamil liberation struggle through his activism in the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, the Canadian Peace Alliance, and the Palestinian freedom movement.

He further said “While I am extremely honoured to be recognized for my contributions in Canada, as recipient of this medal, I would like to emphasise the need for the commonwealth countries, especially Britain given its colonial legacy in the island of Sri Lanka, to hold the Sri Lankan state accountable for its genocide of the Eezham Tamil people. I call upon Prime Minister Harper to keep his promise to boycott the next Commonwealth meeting scheduled in Sri Lanka until the country's human rights record improves.”

Stressing the need for an independent international investigation into the war crimes of the GoSL and a referendum among the Eezham Tamils on the basis of historical, earned and remedial aspects of Tamil sovereignty as the only means to check the protracted genocide of the Eezham Tamil nation, Mr. Saravanamuttu called on Canada to support the eviction of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth.



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