Relatives of unjust Tamil mothers have staged a protest in Vavuniya despite a 1,500-day struggle to find their loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared.
The campaign came as the Office on Missing Persons declared progress on the resolution adopted at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
The protest march started in front of the Kandasamy Kovil in Vavuniya, proceeded to the Clock Tower in the city and returned to the Kandasamy Kovil on Sunday 28 March.
The security forces have recently been accused of bringing to the capital and harassing mothers who lead organizations in the North and East that have been fighting for years to find their loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared.
In a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet prior to the adoption of the Geneva resolution, the Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances in the North and East pointed out in February 2021 that the anti-terrorist units operating from Colombo were being summoned to Colombo for questioning without any clear reason. That.
Yogaraja Kanagaranjani, president of the association, and Leela Devi Anandarajah, secretary of the association, wrote a letter to Michelle Bachelet on Saturday, February 20, saying that the struggle to find their missing loved ones would be unjustified as well as stressful.
In the letter, which called for speedy justice for the enforced disappearances, the two mothers emphasized that “the struggle to find our relatives has been subjected to undue harassment and distress by Sri Lankan government forces.”
The memorandum further points out that the current Sri Lankan regime, which is constantly militarizing, is filling civilian positions with military personnel involved in genocide and war crimes, and that it continues to threaten the lives of the Tamil people and undermine the democratic space.
High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet also noted the number of enforced disappearances since the end of the war.
Provincial journalists further say that 84 parents have lost their lives without knowing the fate of their children on the 1500th day of the ongoing international struggle for justice to find their loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared.
The president of the association, Yogaraja Kanagaranjani, and the secretary, Leela Devi Anandarajah, continued to point out that the fate of more than 29 children, infants and infants who had surrendered to the army with their parents could not be ascertained.
Mothers in the North have previously expressed their displeasure at the United Nations’ praise for the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), which has done nothing to help find their missing relatives in government custody.
The resolution was tabled at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on March 23 by a majority vote to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
The resolution will enable the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to collect and preserve information on war crimes in Sri Lanka. The UN General Assembly has also approved the collection of information on future human rights violations in the country.