• US Tamils saddened and shocked by brutal murder of Joesph Pararajasingham
  27 December 2005

Text of Statement by

World Tamil Coordinating Committee – USA , Illankai Tamil Sangam – USA, World Tamil Women Organization – USA, Federation of Tamil Association of North America (FeTNA)– USA, Center for Women’s Development and Rehabilitation – USA, Tamil Heritage International – USA, Illankai Tamil Sangam - Florida, World Tamil Organization - Illinois, Midwest Tamil Sangam - Illinois, Ohio Tamil Association - Ohio, Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization - California, Illankai Tamil Sangam - California, Illankai Tamil Sangam - Vancouver-Portland – Washington, Illankai Tamil Association - North Carolina, Tamil Welfare and Human Rights Committee – District of  Colombia

We, the undersigned organizations in USA are angry and deeply saddened by the brutal murder of Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, Tamil Parliamentarian and a human rights activist. We are shocked that the murder was carried out in a church and during a midnight mass to celebrate Christmas. St. Mary’s church where Mr. Pararajasingham was murdered is in a Sri Lankan army controlled High Security Zone in the Batticaloa town.

Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham was shot, just after he received communion from Bishop Kingsley Swampillai, the Bishop of Batticaloa. Mr. Pararajasingham’s wife, Sugunam was also seriously wounded and is in a critical condition. Seven others including children were also wounded in this barbaric act.

The Tamil people all over the world have lost a fearless champion who risked his life to tell the truth of injustice and cruelty to the Tamils by the Sinhala Buddhist controlled Sri Lankan government. The world has lost an honest and decent human being.

Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham was a founding member of the NorthEast Human Rights Secretariat [NESHOR]. He was also an Executive Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the SAARC Parliamentary Association.

Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham met various world leaders and officials including the US Department of State and brought to their attention the persecution of Tamils by the successive Sri Lankan government. When the US Congressman Danny K. Davis visited the Tamil areas this year, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham accompanied him. This callous murder should be seen in the context of Sri Lankan government’s efforts to de-link the Tamils from the international community and denying them an opportunity to bring to their attention, the ceasefire violation and the extrajudicial and sexual assaults perpetrated by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

The sanctity of a church and the sacredness of the day were not considered in carrying this atrocious act on Christmas day in a Church. This should not be considered in isolation but in the context of recent persecution of Christians and burning of churches in callous disregard for the religious pluralism in the country by the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinistic forces.

We are shocked by the cynicism of the Sri Lankan government which by its statements or insinuations by their spokes person, Sinhala correspondents and Sinhala ‘experts’ are trying to blame the LTTE for this murder. These outrageous accusations as usual are done without any investigations or even the apprehension of the assassins who carried out the murder in a High Security Zone controlled by the Sri Lankan army. This insults the intelligence of people. The location of the assassination a “High Security Zone”, which are Tamil areas occupied by the Sinhala armed forces clearly establishes that this atrocious murder was probably done by the Sri Lankan armed forces or by the paramilitary forces acting in collusion with the Sri Lankan military intelligence.

This cowardly action is not only violating the Article 2.1 of the ceasefire agreement which prohibits assassination but also the killing of a noncombatant. It is also a violation of Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. This is nothing but an act of State terrorism in its naked form.

We also sadly point out that the action/inaction on the part of the international community contributed to the present climate. When the Sri Lankan leadership repeatedly claimed that they had established an international safety net designed to surround and contain the Tamils struggle for self-determination, the international community’s failure to repudiate these claims and disassociate itself from the stated partisan goals of such a safety net strengthened the hands of the Sinhala armed forces.

The Co-Chair’s turning a blind eye towards the failure of the Sri Lankan armed forces to vacate civilian homes, temples, schools in violation of Article 2.2 of the ceasefire agreement and International Humanitarian Laws; the failure of the Sri Lankan government to disarm the paramilitary groups as required by Article 1.8 of the ceasefire agreement and scuttling of the Post-Tsunami Operational Management [PTOMS] to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the Tsunami victims embolden the Sinhala chauvinist forces that they can breach the ceasefire agreement with impunity and impose a military solution to the Tamil national question.

 In addition, while the international community employs concepts such as “earned sovereignty”, “conditional sovereignty” and “phased out sovereignty” in national conflicts in Sudan, Bougenvilla, Montenegro, and Kosovo, its insistence that its solutions to the current conflicts in the island of Sri Lanka should be within the united Sri Lanka creates a perception that the international community is on the side of the Sinhala chauvinistic forces.

The international community must take concrete actions to stop the State terrorism. We are aware that when known leaders of the Tamil struggle are killed, such as Mr. Kausalyan, the head of LTTE’s Eastern political wing and the head of the Eastern Tsunami reconstruction efforts, and Mr. Chandra Nehru, the Human Rights activist and journalist Taraki, the international community expressed concerns.

However, the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham demonstrates that these concerns have not had any effect on the Sri Lankan government. It is appalling that these and other deaths are never investigated fully and brought to any conclusion. The impunity with which Tamils killings are never properly investigated or punished including mass murders are an encouragement for the armed forces to continue with their killings. However the LTTE is blamed without any effective investigation. This is part of the war to marginalize and dehumanize the only force that can effectively speak up for the Tamils.

We are also aware that due to the inherent bias in the international system and diplomatic protocols is easy to criticize and take actions against a non-state party. We also would like to point out that given the political history since independence appeasement of the Sinhala Buddhist forces will not change its pervasive and entrenched racism. The international community must show political and moral courage and impose sanctions on the government of Sri Lanka in order to put an immediate end of this deliberated and calculated violence. Such an action would restore confidence of the Tamil people in the peace process.

World Tamil Coordinating Committee – USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam – USA
World Tamil Women Organization – USA
Federation of Tamil Association of North America (FeTNA)– USA
Center for Women’s Development and Rehabilitation – USA
Tamil Heritage International – USA
Illankai Tamil Sangam - Florida
World Tamil Organization - Illinois
Midwest Tamil Sangam - Illinois
Ohio Tamil Association - Ohio
Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization - California
Illankai Tamil Sangam - California
Illankai Tamil Sangam - Vancouver-Portland – Washington
Illankai Tamil Association - North Carolina
Tamil Welfare and Human Rights Committee – District of
Colombia