TNPF urges united Tamil stance ahead of UNHRC session, criticises ITAK for absence
Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Jaffna district parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has called for urgent and unified Tamil action to increase international pressure for accountability, ahead of the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva.
Speaking at a press conference held on Sunday at a private guesthouse in Jaffna, Ponnambalam stated that the TNPF’s objective is to create strong international pressure by presenting the demands of the affected Tamil people in the lead-up to the Geneva sessions.
He said that a meeting had been convened to build consensus among Tamil political parties, public organisations, human rights defenders, and civil society activists. The focus, he said, was to establish a unified stance on pursuing accountability for the Tamil genocide.
Invitations were extended to all Tamil political parties, but Ponnambalam noted that the Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) declined to participate. Representatives from other Tamil political groups, as well as activists and civil society members, were in attendance.
“It is crucial that the demand for accountability in the genocide not be confined to Geneva,” he said. “The affected community continues to face betrayal. We are losing vital evidence. If this situation persists, there is a real danger that the pursuit of justice will be entirely abandoned.”
Ponnambalam also criticised what he described as growing public disillusionment with the United Nations’ role in Sri Lanka. There is a widespread public perception that the UN office is currently acting in a way that provides legitimacy to the Sri Lankan government, he said.
He further accused the Sri Lankan state of actively attempting to undermine the UN and its accountability mechanisms, asserting, “Whether knowingly or not, ITAK is aiding this agenda,” and referenced the party’s recent letter regarding the Chemmani mass grave as an example.
The Chemmani mass grave site, located in Jaffna, is currently the focus of renewed forensic excavations where dozens of skeletal remains have already been recovered. Tamil civil society groups have voiced concern over political interference and attempts to downplay the significance of the mass graves.
Ponnambalam announced that formal complaints would soon be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. These submissions, he said, will reflect updated demands aligned with a joint statement prepared in 2021, which had input from political parties, civil society, and human rights defenders.
“Our aim is not only to clearly articulate the genuine demands of the Tamil people, but also to mobilise action. We will launch awareness campaigns and initiate efforts to rally the people around this cause.”
