Tamils in Canberra, Australia, demonstrated on July 22 to demand an international investigation into the mass grave sites in Chemmani, Jaffna.
Protesters in Canberra started their rally outside the Sri Lankan High Commission and marched to the United Nations office, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as several other embassies, where they delivered briefings to officials about the Chemmani mass grave site.
(All photos by Zebedee Parkes)
Over a hundred skeletal remains have been uncovered at the mass grave during the excavation process. Many of the remains are believed to be victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings carried out by Sri Lanka's forces.
Tamils in Australia outlined the following demands:
1. Launch of a comprehensive international investigation into Chemmani and other mass grave sites in Sri Lanka.
2. Adoption of a strong new resolution against Sri Lanka during the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session in September 2023.
3.Imposition of travel bans on military officers implicated in genocide, mirroring measures already taken by the U.S, U.K, and Canada.
4. Provision of protection and asylum for genocide survivors and key witnesses.
5. Exertion of pressure to release Sri Lankan military-occupied Tamil lands.
6. Pressure for the immediate release of long-detained Tamil political prisoners and repeal of oppressive legislation.
7. International recognition of the Tamil genocide and a credible accountability pathway.
“The soil of Chemmani is speaking, and it confirms what Tamil families have always said—this is genocide," said Renuga Inpakumar, Tamil Refugee Council's spokesperson.
"The discovery of a 3 to 5-year-old child’s skeleton with a UNICEF schoolbag is not just tragic; it is undeniable evidence of a state-led campaign to erase a people. We are calling on the international community to end its silence. Justice cannot remain buried," Inpakumar added.
