Joi nt Le tter to OHCHR from the Member s of t he Northern Prov incial Counc il and th e Easter n Provincial Council, Sri LankaPage 1of 4Joint Letter from the Members of the Northern Provincial Council and the Eastern Provincial Council, Sri Lanka Augu st 17 , 2014 The H on. Navanethe m Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for H uman Rights Offi ce of the High Commissi oner for Human R ights (OHCHR) Palais Wil son, 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 G ene va, Swi tzerland Dear Honorable Madam High Commissioner Pillay, Our Request Related to OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka War-Crimes It i s with utmost respect and gratitude we , the democratically elected M embers of the Northern Provincial Council and the Eastern Provincial Council in Sri Lanka, jointly write this le t ter to you as you prepare to conclude your hi ghly ful filled a nd exceptionally accomplished service as the High Commissioner for Human Rights. On behalf of the Tamil people, we wou ld like to t hank you for your dedicated work towards justice and accountability to the victimized Tamil s in Sri Lanka. We are confident that the e xemplary investigative team that you and your offi ce have put together wi ll ensure justice to the victims. We woul d like to submit the fol lowing requests to your kind consideration and would be obli ged, if you could share our reque st with the i nvestigative team and also with the incoming High Commissione r: 1. We request that the OHCHR investigative team, using the authority of the OHCHR, to look into all the past viol ations against the Tamil people at le ast from 1 97 4 when the ki llings of Tamil pe ople by the Sri Lankan forces started. There were several major incidents of massacres of Tamils in the 197 0s, 198 0s, 1990s and 20 00 s, and none of them were properl y investigate d by the Sri Lankan government. 2. The Tamil people strongly bel ieve that they have been, and continued to be subjected to Genocide by Sri Lanka. The Tamils were massacred in groups, their templ es and churches were bombed, and thei r iconic Jaffna Publi c Library was burnt down in 19 81 with its collection of largest oldest priceless irreplaceable Tamil manuscripts. Systematic Sinhalese settleme nts and demographi c cha nges wi th the intent to destroy the Tamil Nation, are taking place. We request the OHCHR inve stigativ e team to look into the pattern of all the atrocities against the Tamil peopl e, and to determine i f Genocide has t aken place. 3. If the Government of Sri Lanka continues to reject entry for the OHCHR investi gative team, we request that the team conside rs conduc ting its investigation in the State of Tamil N adu, India. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely yours, Ponnuthurai Ayngaranesan Minister of Agriculture, Agrarian Services, Animal Husbandry, Irr igation, and Envi ronment, Northern Provincial Council M. Kanagalingam Shivajilingam Member of Northern Provincial Council [Former Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka]
