Thread by @PEARL_Action

#STATEMENT: Amidst Sri Lanka’s political and economic turmoil, PEARL joins Tamils worldwide in remembering the Tamil victims and survivors of the Mullivaikkal Massacre thirteen years ago, marked annually as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

pearlaction.org/wp-content/upl… (1/10)

Since the final stages of the armed conflict, an estimated range of 70,000 to 169,796 Tamils remain unaccounted for. They were either purposefully killed or disappeared by the GoSL, which is credibly accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. (2/10)

The Mullivaikkal memorialization site remains under heavy military surveillance, and police harass and threaten Tamils who have come together to remember their loved ones. (3/10)

Members of the international community must condemn this violation of the Tamil people’s right to memorialization and ensure their safety. (4/10)

Furthermore, members of the international community must push the GoSL to take meaningful steps toward achieving justice and accountability for its past and ongoing crimes, demilitarization, and a sustainable, long-term political solution for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. (5/10)

UN Member States must ensure that Sri Lanka faces consequences through: the renewal of the crucial OHCHR mandate at the @UN_HRC September session; the use of bilateral levers such as targeted sanctions, human rights conditionalities on trade… (6/10)

…and the immediate suspension of military partnerships; and the pursuit of international justice at the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, and/or ad hoc tribunals. (7/10)

Focusing on the current economic and political crisis, without addressing the root causes of conflict or the longstanding grievances of the Tamil people and minority communities, will merely maintain the status quo and perpetuate repression, violence, and genocide. (8/10)

Tamil resistance in the face of state oppression and genocide has been a bulwark against the brutality and erasure of the state, regardless of economics or international attention, and it has guided PEARL’s work to date. (9/10)

We will continue to honor those who were killed or disappeared during Mullivaikkal in the fight for justice and self-determination for the Tamil people.

#Mullivaikkal #JusticeForGenocide #TamilGenocide #TamilGenocideMonth #SriLanka (10/10)