Responding to the arrest of Tamil National People’s Front’s General Secretary, Kajendren Selvarajah, the British All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) have expressed deep concern and urged the Foreign Secretary to raise it with her counterpart in Sri Lanka.
The statement highlights that there was “no arrest warrant in place nor any charges being produced”. Instead, he was arrested for defying a court-ordered ban and commemorating the 34th-anniversary death of Lt Col Thileepan who died during a hunger strike demanding that the Indian government fulfil its pledges to the Tamil people.
The APPGT condemned the arrest as “yet another incident of Sri Lankan police brutality”. It follows a damning report by Human Rights Watch which details the ongoing abuses by Sri Lanka’s police which include arbitrary detentions, police brutality, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
The statement further highlighted the concern of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of the “ongoing repression of Tamil memorial events”.
“The continuation of such oppression reflects the climate of fear that remains in Sri Lanka”, the APPGT notes.
Commenting on the incident, the Chair of the APPGT, Elliot Colburn, stated that this “sadly shows the work is nowhere near done to secure peace, accountability and justice”.
Very distressing scenes. As Chair of the APPG for Tamils, I am raising this with urgency with @FCDOGovUK. Sadly shows the work is no where near done to secure peace, accountability and justice. https://t.co/dtZme7H5nA
— Elliot Colburn MP (@ElliotColburn) September 23, 2021
Selvarajah has since been released on bail.
Read the full statement here.