Skip to content or view screen version

Tamil Youth statement on Sri Lanka PM @ Pretoria inauguration

N. Naidoo | 09.05.2009 08:50

Press statement issued by
Tamil Youth Organisation of South Africa

Press Statement:

It is extremely disheartening to note that Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ratnasiri Wickramanayake was invited by the South African Government to attend the inauguration ceremony and celebrations of President Jacob Zuma.

Considering that Sri Lanka has been acknowledged by the world as an oppressive regime which has caused the deaths of several innocent Tamil people over the last 60 years and thousands within the last three months of military aggression, Governments like South Africa are giving a green light to the commission of such atrocities by entertaining individuals such as Wickramanayake who is noted for his particularly racist stance and anti-Tamil comments such as: "This is our country. Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country," as he declared to the international public in 2006.

More than 600 000 Tamil people call South Africa home and Tamil people in S.A and around the world are begging international governments to take an active stand against Sri Lanka’s military aggression which is becoming increasingly fatal for thousands of Tamils including women and children who die daily from injuries and starvation. Considering this, the South African Government is seemingly overlooking the concerns of the South African Tamil Diaspora and other concerned bodies which are strongly affected by the actions of the Sri Lankan Government.

Sri Lanka has been condemned by Human Rights Watch and several other NGO’s and bodies for its devastating record of conduct. The international community has acknowledged that several war crimes have been carried out by the Sri Lankan Government yet they still pander to the propaganda dished out by this government and defend its sovereignty. South Africa, as a role model for democracy and freedom struggles has a responsibility to uphold certain concepts and standards which Sri Lanka disgraces by its utter disregard for human life.

N. Naidoo

Tamil Youth Organisation of South Africa

N. Naidoo