The secretary of the Vavuniya Families of the Disappeared association, Gopalakrishnan Rajkumar, has called on the EU delegation visiting Sri Lanka to visit the North-East and to speak with Tamil victim communities to understand their plight, particularly the mothers of children enforcibly disappeared.
He further added that “the EU should not only focus on repealing the PTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] , but look at the bigger picture, “a political solution is needed to protect Tamils from the aggression and oppression of the Sinhala army, police and Sinhala politicians” and achieve closure regarding “missing children.”
Rajkumar, spoke at a media briefing on Tuesday, organized by the Families of the Disappeared in Vavuniya on their 1685th day of protest along with members on hunger strike.
During the brief, he criticised the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) over concerns that the officials would fail to demand accountability from the EU.
"Sampanthan and Sumanthiran do not represent the voice of Tamils" he maintained.
He further criticised the TNA noting the growing distrust of Tamil politicans who are "afraid to speak up and enjoy the benefits offered by the Sri Lankan government".
In his statement he emphasised the "moral responsibility" held by the European Union to ensure that Sri Lanka fulfil its commitments to the Tamil people.
Rajkumar further added, “the Sri Lankan government is accelerating Sinhalese colonization in the North East.” “If we wait 2 more years, Tamils in the North East will lose their political power [...] we hope the EU will do the right thing, including abolishing the GSP plus”
On Tuesday, senior TNA officials met with the EU delegation and stressed the need for Sri Lanka to repeal the PTA.
