United Sri Lanka Association Incorporate Wellington New Zealand

Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand Parliament Buildings Wellington

Dear Prime Minister,

Tamil Genocide / Mullivaikal Massacre Remembrance Day In Auckland – Stirring Up Communal Strife In New Zealand based on a disproven allegation

The United Sri Lanka Association (USLA) of Wellington and its members are both frustrated and distraught at learning of a planned Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day” meeting that is to be held on 18th of May 2021 at 6.30pm at 202 Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough, Auckland. This allegation of Tamil Genocide”, during the final weeks of liberation of Sri Lanka from three decades of Tamil Tiger Terror, on the 19th of May 2009 at Mulivaikal, was first levelled by the international funders of the Tigers, within days of their defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan security forces, to discredit the latter. The allegation was that in these last few weeks the civilian casualty rate was of the order of 40 to 120 thousand, disproportionately high suggesting directed shooting at civilians by the Sri Lankan forces and hence justifying the charge of Genocide,

However, this claim has now been shown to be clearly false through a impressive volume of evidence. Most notable among them were the war time dispatches in May 2019, from UK Defence Attaché Lt Colonel Anton Gash from Colombo, first tabled by Lord Naseby in the UK House of Lords in September 2017 and many times thereafter, having obtained them with great difficulty using the Official Information Act. The heavily redacted 39 dispatches Lord Naseby tabled, clearly showed that the civilian casualties were of the order of seven thousand, quite proportional to the scale of the fighting. This number was also similar to the estimates by US Defence Attaché Lt Col. Lawrence Smith, estimates of Sir John Holmes the UN resident representative in Colombo in May 2019, and the findings of the Sri Lankan Tamil University Teachers census carried out a few months later.

Sir Desmond de Silva QC of UK, a former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leon, providing a legal opinion to respond to these Tiger allegation, following examination of extensive information provided on the conflict concluded that the great mass of civilian deaths which occurred in the final stages of the war were regrettable but permissible collateral damage”.

Additionally, it is recognised that in war, the number of injured would be two to three times of the fatalities. Ten years after the end of the war those found injured were not anything like the 120 to 300 thousand that should have been found. Nor have any sites of burial for the 40 to 120 thousand allegedly killed, even ten years after the event.

The claimed support for this Tiger allegation from the UN, their only significant support, was in fact not from the UN, and the basis of their support was of questionable credibility. It came from a panel of three experts, all with recent adverse interactions with Sri Lanka, appointed by the UNSG against the wishes of the UNSC, to advice UNSG on accountability provisions in Sri Lanka. Going beyond their brief, they indicated the presence of credible allegations” of disproportionate civilian loss of life, but refused to reveal their sources for thirty years, so bringing in to question the credibility of this observation.

Despite this volume of evidence against Tamil Genocide”, importing this claim from Toronto Canada where this claim is rife will inevitably import also the consequent inter communal discord and even violence within the Sri Lankan community, that is common place there, to hitherto peaceful New Zealand.

This prospect is horrifying to contemplate for Sri Lankan New Zealanders, especially to those of us who came to New Zealand fleeing Tiger Terror and have enjoyed decades of peace. This is a flagrant misuse of the democratic freedoms of New Zealand to spread what are now clearly falsehoods, with no regard to the discord it would lead to. It’s aim is to avenge the defeat of the Tigers they sustained with funds and propaganda for decades .

It is for these reasons that USLA seek your help and urge you to use the power and resources at your disposal to prevent this agenda of Tamil Genocide” being pursued as planned, in New Zealand.

On the other hand, if it is to be a Remembrance of Tamil Victims of the Three Decade Long Conflict”, then we would have no objection and would be happy to even support.

Thank you very much for your help as requested.

Yours sincerely, Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM Spokesperson United Sri Lanka Association (USLA) Wellington NZ