FAO:
The Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson MP
Prime Minister, UK

Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, UK

Rt. Hon. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, UK

Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC MP
Leader of the Official Opposition, UK

Rt. Hon. Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, UK
 
04th March 2021
Dear Prime Minister and others,
 
EXTREMELY URGENT
PLEA TO SAVE TAMILS BY SAVING THE LIFE OF MRS AMBIHAI SELVAKUMAR.

We the victims of the genocide, which was perpetrated by the illegitimate Sri Lankan state, Eelam Tamil origins currently living in United Kingdom and across the globe and human rights lovers.

We write to you with utmost urgency to request your immediate intervention to save the life of Mrs Ambihai Selvakumar, a British National, who has commenced her Hunger Strike in London, to protest for International Investigation for Tamil genocide and justice on behalf of the Eelam Tamil victims of the genocide in Sri Lanka. She has been on a hunger strike since 27th February 2021. 

The Occupying Sri Lankan state has evaded justice for the genocide that is being perpetrated against the Nation of Eelam Tamils since 1948 with impunity. Genocide of Tamils in Tamil Nation continue to date. Sri Lanka has the second-highest number of enforced disappearances in the world, with a reported backlog of between 60,000 and 100,000 disappearances since the late 1980s. Between 2005 and 2015, thousands of people, mostly ethnic Eelam Tamils, were forcibly disappeared in state custody. These were overseen by and when the present war crimes accused president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was defence secretary and his brother, current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was president. The perpetrators of the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, which were committed against thousands of Eelam Tamils, continue to evade investigations and prosecutions to date. The continued impunity of these perpetrators and their return to power has meant that the state has resumed its genocide, in particular cultural genocide, against the Eelam Tamils to this very day.  The staggering Sinhalisation in Eelam Tamils’ traditional lands, destruction of commemoration monuments, obstruction of equality and the elimination of the Tamil language and history are merely a few examples of the ongoing genocide.

To date, Sri Lanka’s domestic processes have persistently and manifestly failed thousands of victims and their families, which has further fuelled the demand for an international inquiry by the United Nations. The current Sri Lankan Government took a step further and officially withdrew from the co-sponsorship of HRC Resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 and walked away from HRC’s accountability process.
 On 15th January 2021, in an unprecedented act of unity, all major Eelam Tamil political leaders, Tamil civil society actors and Tamil victim community representatives from the North-East of Sri Lanka signed a statement calling for an international investigation process, including a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.[1] That same month, over 250 British Tamil organisations called on the UK government to establish an International Independent Investigative Mechanism (IIIM) to investigate the war crimes and the charge of genocide in Sri Lanka. Further, on 4th February 2021, a second Joint Request unitedly signed by more than 500 British organizations fully endorsed the above call.[2]

Last month, thousands of Tamils and Muslims across the Tamils’ homeland engaged in mass demonstrations, called P2P, calling for the international community to take immediate action against Sri Lanka. Families of the Disappeared marked their four years of protesting making similar demands. It is very concerning that none of these were taken into account, responded or even acknowledged by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the UK government.
 
Mrs. Ambihai Selvakumar, a well-qualified former Civil Servant of the UK Government, a dedicated human rights activist and one of the Directors of the International Centre for Prevention and prosecution of Genocide (ICPPG) has repeatedly written to you on behalf of the victims of genocide in occupying Sri Lankan State and has also notified you of her intention to fast unto death unless the UK agrees to sponsor a resolution that includes the basic demands which were unanimously put forward by the Eelam Tamils and across the world.[3] However, it is very disappointing that you failed to respond, which has forced her to commence the hunger strike in desperation for justice for the victims.

In her statement, Mrs. Ambihai Selvakumar maintains that she will not break her fast until one of the following demands are met:

1.     Recommend to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly that Sri Lanka be referred to the International Criminal Court and take steps to effectively investigate charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

2.     Establish an International Independent Investigative Mechanism (IIIM), akin to those established for Syria and Myanmar, which mandates the evidence of international crimes and human rights violations be collected and prepared for criminal prosecutions. A meaningful IIIM must have a strict time frame.

3.     Mandate that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) appoint a Special Rapporteur to continue to monitor Sri Lanka for on-going violations and have an OHCHR field presence in Sri Lanka.

4.     Recommend an UN-monitored Referendum to determine the aspirations of the Eelam Tamil people in Sri Lanka, on the basis that the North-East of Sri Lanka is the traditional Tamil homeland and the Eelam Tamils have the right to self-determination.

We write to register that the entire Tamils including myself, fully endorse all the 4 demands put forward by her on our behalf and We fully support her sincere endeavour, which is based on the non-violent, Gandhian principles. It is very shocking that you have chosen to turn a blind eye and her health condition is deteriorating, and we are seriously concerned. [4]

We are not prepared to lose Mrs. Ambihai Selvakumar as we have lost several thousands of our kith and kin by genocidal Sri Lankan state and every Tamil live matter to us. Hence, as a UK resident, We write to ask you to take immediate action and save her live by full filling at least one of the 4 demands which she has put forward on behalf of the Tamil community across the world.

We look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.
 
 Thank you.
 

[1] https://www.lankanewsweb.net/79-human-rights/76513-tamil-parties-call-for-decisive-action-at-46th-session-of-unhrc

[2] https://www.namathueelanadu.com/?p=18756

[3] http://tamildiplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PRESS-RELEASE-ICPPG-Intention-to-Commence-Hunger-Strike.pdf

[4] https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/british-tamil-woman-commences-hunger-strike-demanding-sri-lanka-be-referred-icc

 http://tamildiplomat.com/a-tamil-woman-commences-a-fast-unto-death-in-britain-demanding-that-sri-lanka-be-referred-to-the-icc/