A commemoration of the first year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster organised by COTANZ ( Consortium of Tamil Associations of New Zealand) also became a memorial meeting for Mr Joseph Pararajasingham, a Tamil MP who was assassinated during midnight Christmas Mass in Batticoloa.
The event was held at Alexandra Park in Auckland and attended by Chris Carter, Minister of Ethnic Affairs, and Keith Locke MP.
A memorial monument for tsunami victims and a portrait of Mr Parrajasingam were placed on the stage where those attending paid their respects.
Mr. Carter and Mr Locke paid flower tributes to the memorial monument and portrait of Mr Pararajasingham and addressed the meeting.
Both spoke of their meeting with Mr Pararajasingham in May this year when he visited to New Zealand. They described him as a warm and gentle man and his assassination is a serious blow the already faltering peace process.
The Aceh People Forum representative, Mr Zulfikar, also spoke.
Representatives from various Tamil organizations including Tamil Studies and Human Rights Trust, Auckland Arts and Literature Circle, Tamil Senior Citizens, Tamil Community Education, Tamil Medical Doctors Association and Tamil Cultural Group also spoke at the meeting.
Messages from Wellington Tamil Society and COTANZ Wellington branch were read out at the event presided by Mr Mervyn Consitine.
A statement released at the end of the meeting said:
“Expatriates Tamils from Sri Lanka living in New Zealand condemn the perpetrators who murdered a leading Tamil politician, Mr Pararajasingham in a church on Christmas Eve in Sri Lanka.
“Mr Pararajasingham, a Member of Parliament, was a long standing champion of human rights and an influential legislator. He recently visited Auckland with his wife (who was also shot and in a serious condition) and addressed a large gathering of expatriate Tamils. He emphasized that peace in Sri Lanka can only be achieved through a peace process and not by violence. Mr Pararajasingham further reiterated that State sponsored terrorism must stop and instead protection to all people must be effectively provided by the State.
The Sri Lankan Government must examine why their own armed personnel, who were providing Mr Pararajasingham with protection, failed to prevent this tragedy.
“The COTANZ (Consortium of Tamil Organizations Association of New Zealand) appeal to the Government of New Zealand to condemn the killing and to also use their good office to rally with other nations around the world to investigate this brutal murder and to bring peace in Sri Lanka through meaningful negotiations and not by use of arms.”
Separately, the Indonesia Human Rights Committee said it was “deeply shocked to learn of the execution of Mr. Pararajasingham.”
“We found him to be a warm and extremely able man with an intimate knowledge of human rights issues in Sri Lanka and internationally. He was deeply committed to the task of achieving equal rights and justice for the Tamil people,” the IHRC said.
“We believe that in Sri Lanka as in Indonesia there are vested interests who do not support peace and that there are paramilitary groups who work in close co-ordination with sections of the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka,” the group said.
“We appeal to the New Zealand Government to make representations to the Government of Sri Lanka and to call for an urgent investigation into the death of Mr Pararajasingham so that those responsible can be brought to account. We also recommend that the Government initiate a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka of local and international human rights experts to assess the situation.”
The event was held at Alexandra Park in Auckland and attended by Chris Carter, Minister of Ethnic Affairs, and Keith Locke MP.
A memorial monument for tsunami victims and a portrait of Mr Parrajasingam were placed on the stage where those attending paid their respects.
Mr. Carter and Mr Locke paid flower tributes to the memorial monument and portrait of Mr Pararajasingham and addressed the meeting.
Both spoke of their meeting with Mr Pararajasingham in May this year when he visited to New Zealand. They described him as a warm and gentle man and his assassination is a serious blow the already faltering peace process.
The Aceh People Forum representative, Mr Zulfikar, also spoke.
Representatives from various Tamil organizations including Tamil Studies and Human Rights Trust, Auckland Arts and Literature Circle, Tamil Senior Citizens, Tamil Community Education, Tamil Medical Doctors Association and Tamil Cultural Group also spoke at the meeting.
Messages from Wellington Tamil Society and COTANZ Wellington branch were read out at the event presided by Mr Mervyn Consitine.
A statement released at the end of the meeting said:
“Expatriates Tamils from Sri Lanka living in New Zealand condemn the perpetrators who murdered a leading Tamil politician, Mr Pararajasingham in a church on Christmas Eve in Sri Lanka.
“Mr Pararajasingham, a Member of Parliament, was a long standing champion of human rights and an influential legislator. He recently visited Auckland with his wife (who was also shot and in a serious condition) and addressed a large gathering of expatriate Tamils. He emphasized that peace in Sri Lanka can only be achieved through a peace process and not by violence. Mr Pararajasingham further reiterated that State sponsored terrorism must stop and instead protection to all people must be effectively provided by the State.
The Sri Lankan Government must examine why their own armed personnel, who were providing Mr Pararajasingham with protection, failed to prevent this tragedy.
“The COTANZ (Consortium of Tamil Organizations Association of New Zealand) appeal to the Government of New Zealand to condemn the killing and to also use their good office to rally with other nations around the world to investigate this brutal murder and to bring peace in Sri Lanka through meaningful negotiations and not by use of arms.”
Separately, the Indonesia Human Rights Committee said it was “deeply shocked to learn of the execution of Mr. Pararajasingham.”
“We found him to be a warm and extremely able man with an intimate knowledge of human rights issues in Sri Lanka and internationally. He was deeply committed to the task of achieving equal rights and justice for the Tamil people,” the IHRC said.
“We believe that in Sri Lanka as in Indonesia there are vested interests who do not support peace and that there are paramilitary groups who work in close co-ordination with sections of the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka,” the group said.
“We appeal to the New Zealand Government to make representations to the Government of Sri Lanka and to call for an urgent investigation into the death of Mr Pararajasingham so that those responsible can be brought to account. We also recommend that the Government initiate a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka of local and international human rights experts to assess the situation.”
