A request from fasting TPPs to the TNA and the Tamil Diaspora Organizations

The Tamil Political Prisoners (TPPs) who are a fast unto death insisting their un-conditional release, in a context where no favourable signals had been received from the Government, have extended a request to TNA, that their 16 member to act in unison and to the Tamil Diaspora Organizations to take up suitable action to get them released.

They have requested that all 16 member of the TNA to meet the president together and insist with him to undertake a process of granting General Amnesty to them or release them and they have requested All Tamil Diaspora Organizations to meet Foreign states and Diplomats and insist with them that, the 273 TPPs in 14 prisons all over in Sri Lanka.

A TPP who on behalf of the TPPs who are on a Fast unto Death in the Anuradhapuram  Prison, said as above in an interview granted to The Tamil Diplomat ( His identity or recording of the interview are not revealed for security reasons), also said that the fast unto death, they have taken will not be abandoned without a direct assurance from the President or through his representative.

Saying that there are 32 TPPs  in the Anuradhapura Prison, some of them are in their sixties and due to continuous fasting they are unable to walk, and if the government did not give a favourable  reply,  he requested the TNA members to stage a ‘satyagraga’ in front of the Parliament along with the members of the NPC.

He further said in this interview as follows:

As per what government had told, 217 – 273 of us are detained in 14 prisons in the country, inclusive of aged persons and women .32 of us are in Anuradhapura prison. Sentences had been passed for 10 of us.

We are calling for General Amnesty from the President because the Justice in Sri Lanka is an un-fair justice. If General Amnesty is not possible, he should make an arrangement send all 273 to their homes.  For, Several of us are in Magazine Prison for more than 24 years. Although their cases were thrown out by the courts, they not released so far.

Most of the detained persons had been detained just on their confessions. Even a baby in Sri Lanka knows as to how these confessions are extracted. The process of sentencing a person solely on this sans any other evidence is a wrong Process.

Usually if somebody is found to be possession of a hand grenade, a situation prevail in Sri Lanka, that he will be ordered to pay a penalty and released. But, if the offender is a Tamil, he will be sentenced to life. Several Tamils had been sentenced to life for taking part in a war. A partial Justice Process is prevailing in Sri Lanka.

We do not see a situation where all the TNA members getting together to insist our release. We have requested all the TNA MPs who met us in Prison to meet the President and find a solution. If that is not possible, we have requested them to take along the NPC members and stage a satyagraha in front of the Parliament.

Sampanthan Aiya gave us an information that a decision will be taken before 7th and he told us thay considerable number will be released but they will be keeping those connected to big cases.

We asked from MP, Selvam Adaikalanathan as to why the Leader of the Opposition, Sampanthan Aiya cannot meet the President, he took a call to Sampanthan Aiya, doubting whether Sampanthan Aiya will receive his call. But he answered the call and passed the above information.

But, the confessions from more than 200 of the 273 were extracted in a way connecting them to big cases. Hence you cannot differentiate between small cases and big cases. Several people were released as innocent after keeping them in prison for long periods. Some were kept in prison for 20 years and sentenced only to a few years as punishment. The Situation in Sri Lanka is that you are kept in prison for 20 years for an offence which will only give 3 years in prison. As we have no faith in Sri Lankan justice and there is something wrong with justice in Sri Lanka, we are calling for General Amnesty of the president. Further we reject all cases against us. They were cases which were fabricated without adequate evidences. If our cases were taken up for trial soon after we were arrested, 90% of us would have gone home after completing the punishment. But they are bent on keeping us inside.

We request that the Tamil Diaspora Organization to show the same interest they showed on the recent election on our affair. They should act in some way for our release giving pressure to the Sri Lankan Government by one way or another. In today’s context they could act in several ways for our release. We expect that they will do it.

If the death of 5 of us will pave the way for the release of the others, we are ready for that also.