The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 We, on the Tamil side, are ready to sit at the table. From Thanthai Selva’s time to Leader Prabhakaran’s time, we engaged in talks; you know this. Under our late leader R. Sampanthan’s parliamentary leadership, too, we engaged in talks. We are always prepared to find a solution within this country through negotiations. We have opened the doors to dialogue; we await your response.

¶ 02 The UN Human Rights Council session begins on the 9th. The late Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph testified before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) that, according to Vanni Government Agents, 429,059 people lived in that area. The UN reported 282,380 people moved from conflict zones to Government-controlled areas in 2009. What happened to the remaining 146,679? Bishop Joseph posed this to the Commission; that report remains before the UNHRC and is taken seriously by the world.

¶ 03 Many investigated here: Navanethem Pillay visited; panels led by Darusman with Jasmin Sooka and Steven Ratner; another by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s office; various teams came and investigated.