61 parents of missing persons have perished while continuing protest beyond 1,050 days

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 January 2020, 23:30 GMT]
The kith and kin of Eezham Tamils subjected to enforced disappearances at the hands of the occupying Sinhala military are passing away, one by one. Their deaths occur as the SL State, and the global forces behind the deceptive ‘transitional justice’ mechanism continue to remain deaf to their demand of establishing the truth of what had happened to their loved ones. While a section of families avoid protests succumbing to the so-called pragmatic view that the SL military had assassinated all the missing family members under its captivity, the protesting families want an official answer establishing what had happened to their loved ones. 72-year-old Rasendram Soosaippillai from Oalaith-thoduvaay in Mannaar was the 61st parent to die without a response from the SL authorities on the whereabouts of his son, who was abducted ten years ago in Mannaar.

The protesting families, who prefer truth and justice above silence and reparations, are determined to continue their protests until their last breath.

The late Mr Rasendram was taking part in the protest that has continued for more than 1,050 days in Vavuniyaa. His funeral was held in Mannaar on Sunday.

Similar protests are still going on in Ki’linochchi, Mullaiththeevu, Maruthang-kea'ni (Vadamaraadchi East, Jaffna), Trincomalee and Ampaa’rai.

The protesters reject the coercive move of issuing ‘certificates of absence’ to missing persons’ next of kin.

However, the backers of the so-called ‘transitional mechanism’ continue to uphold the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which the victims have rejected, as a virtue.

The international establishments that brought about the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 project the mere symbolic acts that took place under the previous Sirisena-Wickramasinghe regime as constituting a constructive engagement. In their view, the SL State criminalising abductions by enacting laws to comply with the international standards was a significant move of SL State’s commitment towards ‘transitional justice’.

However, Tamils have learned for a long time the validity of these token measures. They know that the SL State could easily withdraw from these commitments any time, as long as the international community sustains the unitary state system on the island. The successive Rajapaksa regime is already embarked on this path.

Subjected to a brutal and sophisticated genocide for more than six decades, the occupied nation of Eezham Tamils without a force to defend themselves after 2009, have been demanding international justice to address the root crime of genocide.

However, the international justice for genocide has been systematically sabotaged by the powers that were only interested in negotiating their prospects for geopolitical access to the island with the genocidal state.

Course-correcting the human rights discourse in Geneva towards a genuinely international and independent investigation is needed to bring justice to the victims. It is also the only way forward to ensure an irrevocable constitutional system on the island, Tamil activists involved in the protest in Vavuniyaa said.



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