Marking Tamil National Heroes’ Day and International Human Rights Day, a petition was today submitted to the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, calling for justice for the genocide and grave human rights violations committed against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.
The petition urges the United Kingdom to formally recognise the Tamil genocide, impose sanctions on those responsible for war crimes, and take concrete and decisive measures to ensure accountability and justice.
The petition submission was organised by the International Centre for the Prevention and Prosecution of Genocide (ICPPG). It was signed by survivors of systematic torture and sexual violence perpetrated by the Sri Lankan military, families of forcibly disappeared persons, and volunteers and activists of ICPPG.
The petition was formally handed over by victims and ICPPG activists Mathusankar Gengeshwaran, Arangan Jeyakumar, Vidushan Markandu, Abinash Thileepan, Gajanand Sundaralingam, and Logatharshi Sooriyakandhan.
Key Demands of the Petition
The petition makes the following principal demands:
- Formal recognition of the genocide committed against the Tamil people.
- Support for international and independent justice mechanisms, including referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for international crimes.
- British leadership in pressing for a political solution under international supervision that respects the Tamil people’s rights to self-determination, equality, and security.
- Acknowledgement of Britain’s historical responsibility in creating the political and constitutional conditions that enabled these injustices against the Eelam Tamil people, and the adoption of corrective measures to address this legacy.
The petition also welcomes and commends the recent sanctions imposed by the British government on certain Sri Lankan military officials, recognising these as the result of sustained advocacy over many years by ICPPG, in collaboration with international organisations such as the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, and Redress, as well as political groups including British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) and Tamils for Labour (TFL), together with victims and survivors.
However, the petition strongly emphasises that many key perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity remain unsanctioned, and calls for urgent and further action to ensure comprehensive accountability.
