Defying the heavy Sri Lankan security presence,Tamil civilians staged yet another protest against the ongoing disappearances and arbitary arrests of Tamil youths on Monday, in Colombo.
The relatives of missing Tamils shouted and carried placards demanding: "Release the prisoners of war immediately!", "Where are our missing relatives?", "Stop the discrimination of Tamils immediately!" and "Sri Lankan government, release our children!".
One father tearfully recalled his son's abduction four years ago,
“My son was abducted in 2007 in Jaffna. Unknown members came into my house and took our gold jewellery and motor bike and also took my son away. I have complaint to the police and human rights organisation but they haven’t taken any actions till date.
We have no clues of his whereabouts and we are unsure if he’s still alive or not. This is causing me great agony. My wife passed away with the worries of our missing son. My other children and I are still suffering being without any knowledge of my eldest son.”
The protest in Colombo, comes immediately after Tamils who had lost their loved ones staged a protest in Jaffna to coincide with International Human Rights Day.
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Members of the TNA, including Sivajilingam and Gajendran, also took part in the protest. Addressing the protesters in Tamil, they slammed the Sri Lankan government's claims that no abductions or disappearances take place, and accused the security forces present of harrassing female protesters.
“The relatives of those who have gone missing in the past years have gathered here and they have voiced their concerns very clearly on Human Rights Day."
"We have requested that the Government release those who are in prisons, actively search for those who are missing and reunite them with their families. Those who have surrendered to the government should be pardoned and released."
"Tamils should be given the right to rule themselves, democratically, in their own land. This government should respect these human rights.”
“They [Sri Lankan government] tell the world that there are no abductions or disappearances in Sri Lanka, but today we saw how the police attacked women who took part in this protest. All organisations should get together to bring this out to the world and give these people hope."
"We want to show our opposition to all this by holding another protest on Monday in Colombo, in front of the Kotai railway station. We will carry on fighting no matter what pressure they put on us.”
Members of the Independent Workers Union, the United Workers' Federation, the Organisation for the release of political prisoners, and the Brotherhood of Christian workers were also present.
