The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is dismayed that more than eight years after the end of war, Sri Lanka has yet to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to addressing the accountability issues occurred during the brutal armed conflict.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) expressed dismay Saturday that more than eight years after the end of war, "Sri Lanka has yet to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to addressing the accountability issues occurred during the brutal armed conflict.
Recently a group of members of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) comprised of 17 medical professionals from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Norway and Bahrain, over the course of nine days.
Ben Emmerson, QC, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, while countering terrorism, is fully cognizant of Sri Lanka’s long and complex history of ethnic tensions and the tremendous security challenges this has generated.
The UK headquartered Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has for the first time organized a medical relief operation in the south with the participation of Sarvodaya.
17 medical professionals of SL origin who are members of the GTF from the UK, Aus, Canada, Norway, the US, France, Bahrain and Germany worked in partnership with the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, alongside local doctors.
The Government hailed the assistance given by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading Tamil diaspora group, for the families affected by the recent floods in Sri Lanka.
It is ten years since the civil war ended in Sri Lanka. The final phase of the war is one of the most brutal in recent history and mass atrocity crimes were systematically committed against the Tamil people. The shelling of civilian areas and hospitals, and the blockade of essential goods including food and medicine, killed an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 Tamil civilians in the final months. And thousands of civilians and combatants disappeared as they surrendered to the Sri Lankan armed forces, even days after the end of war.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is shocked and saddened by the targeted attacks in churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. The scale of the violence, particularly on a day of worship and celebration, with more than 200 deaths and many hundreds injured is deeply disturbing.
The Need for Time-bound Action Plan for full implementation of Resolutions 30/1 & 34/1
The recent appointment of Shavendra Silva (Silva) as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lankan army has sent shock waves through the Tamil community, and to all those interested in human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka. Such appointment, particularly as Sri Lanka’s human rights record is about to be reviewed in Geneva in March 2019, is a clear message to the international community that the country cares little about its views and the potential consequences of its failures in faithfully implementing the UNHRC resolution 30, 34/1.
Sri Lanka’s constitutional crisis is deepening. Only a few days ago, President Sirisena ominously warned that he had more ‘tools’ at his disposal, implying more to come in the ‘constitutional coup’ he had set in motion. True to his word and on top of his earlier actions, including illegal transfer of power from a sitting Prime Minister and proroguing the Parliament without consulting the Speaker, President Sirisena has dissolved the Parliament without any legitimate explanation. The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) condemns these unconstitutional and illegal actions in the strongest possible terms.