Raise war crimes committed by Sri Lankan President

"According to a UN Internal Review Report, Sri Lankan troops killed over 70,000 Tamils in five months and raped hundreds of Tamil women"

1. Urged to raise the plight of 90,000 Tamil war widows and their daughters.
2. Raise the issue of sexual violence by the Sri Lankan armed forces against the Tamil women.
3. Allegations of Chemical Weapons use.
4. Urged to raise the plight of those surrendered.
5. UN Internal Review Report: 70,000 Tamils killed in five months.

( August 29, 2013, New York City, Sri Lanka Guardian) As the the South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won begins his State visit to Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, urged him to raise war crimes and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan President.

"According to a UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka, troops under the Sri Lankan President's command, killed over 70,000 Tamils in five months and raped hundreds of Tamil women," said Mr. Rudrakumaran.

"Tamils were singled out to face these abuses simply and solely on account of their Tamil nationality."

"There were allegations that Chemical weapons were used by the Sri Lankan security forces"

Mr. Rudrakumaran also urged the South Korean Prime Minister to raise the plight of 90,000 Tamil war widows and their daughters during her visit to Sri Lanka. “We urge you to remember that while you are meeting Sri Lankan President, several women are facing rape and sexual abuse by the Sri Lankan security forces.”

According to a May 2012 report by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Human Rights and Democracy; there are up to 90,000 Tamil war widows in the North & East of Sri Lanka.

"We also urge you to raise the plight of thousands who surrendered to Sri Lankan Security Forces in May 2009, like a group led by Rev. Father Francis Joseph and Ehilian. Several witnesses saw Fr. Joseph and others surrendering to the Sri Lankan Security Forces. For the last four years no one has been allowed to meet them, he continued.

The appeal to South Korean Prime Minister also explained that Tamils have faced repeated mass killings since 1958 and that the killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of killings. According to this UN report tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed in five months due to deliberate and intense shelling and bombing of areas designated by the government as "no-fire zones", where Tamil civilians had assembled for safety.

"The Sri Lankan Government also restricted food and medicine for Tamils, resulting in large numbers of people dying from starvation and many of the injured bleeding to death," noted Mr. Rudrakuamran.

According to the UN Panel, the killings and other abuses that took place amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.

"According to Bishop of Mannar, Dr. Rayappu Joseph, 146,679 Tamils went missing when Sri Lankan forces attacked Tamil people. Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community," Mr. Rudrakumaran concluded.