Following the first session dedicated to the Tamil people, held by the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal in Dublin in January 2010, the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka and the International Human Rights Association of Bremen requested the opening of a second session so that the tribunal could rule on the charge of genocide committed against the Tamil people by the State of Sri Lanka with the complicity of other states. The second session took place in Bremen from December 7 to 10, 2013.
The requesting organizations called for an investigation into human rights violations committed with the intent to destroy the foundations of the national life of the Tamil people in the northeastern regions of the country. This genocidal intent was identified in the desire to ensure the dominance of the Sinhalese population over the territory traditionally inhabited by the Tamils of Eelam.
The Tribunal concluded that evidence presented by witnesses and experts demonstrated intent to commit genocide. Considering the widespread and systematic nature of the atrocities committed, the scale of the actual or attempted destruction, and the systematic manner in which repressive actions against the northeast population were planned and carried out, the Tribunal found the State of Sri Lanka guilty of genocide against the Tamils of Eelam. The Tribunal also noted that the consequences of the genocide persist to this day. The British state, the US government and the Indian government were also found to be accomplices to the crime of genocide.
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