Their goal is to track down those responsible for genocidal acts in Sri Lanka and bring the perpetrators under trial for war crimes.

Bruce Fein, a former Secretary General under the Reagan Administration in the United States, has formed an organisation named, "Tamil's Against Genocide". Their goal is to track down those responsible for genocidal acts in Sri Lanka and bring the perpetrators under trial for war crimes.

ALSO READ AND VISIT T4J WEBSITE :
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=779451043735460643

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PHILLIP ALEXANDER TO CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR OF CNN.

July Riots 1983 Sri Lanka

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-155225

"http://http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-155225">

viewed 434 times Jaffna and Mannar, Sri Lanka // embed media

Dear Christiane,

Attached is a photo of a woman that had been murdered during the July riots of 1983 in Sri Lanka.
I was happy to see something being done to expose the genocidal acts of organisations and governments and I therefore would like to share with you my family's loss as a result of genocide - the perpetrators of which have gone unpunished.
My name is Philip Martin Alexander. I was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1985 from Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants who arrived to the country in 1981.

My first name, Philip, was named so after my mother's brother who was killed in Jaffna during the July 1983 riots. He walked out of a milkbar after buying some milk and bread and as soon as he came outside, was shot upon by soldiers firing at random on top of a moving Sri Lankan Army truck. He was shot a couple of times around his intestinal area, was eventually taken to hospital, however, by that time it was too late. The loss of blood caused shock and he died alone crying to the nurses and asking them for his mummy. We only came to know about this after he had passed.

My family realised he had gone missing and were concerned that something might have happened to him as they knew he went to buy some bread and that shootings by the army had occurred in that area. So my aunty (my mother's eldest sister) went to the hospital to see if he was there and found that my uncle was administered there and that the Army had taken the body. My aunty knew a General who she was friendly with through her occupation as a sort of hotel concierge (Palm Court Hotel). My aunty contacted him and explained that her brother was killed. He asked, "who did this?" My aunty responded by saying, "your people did this!" He then apologised and said that he can release the body but that the funeral must be conducted under government supervision and that the body must be cremated.

My family were lucky to at least have the opportunity to have their final goodbyes and conduct a funeral. Many Tamils who had lost their loved ones during the riots were not so fortunate. Unfortunetly for my mother, she was unable to go back to Sri Lanka for the funeral as immigration policies in Australia for obtaining permanent residency required her to remain in Australia for some years.

The story of my second name, Martin, comes from my father's brother who was also killed by the Sri Lankan Army in 1984. He was an electrical engineer working in a place called Mannar and was returning from work to his home in Vavuniya. He entered a crowded bus and was standing beside the driver. On the way home, the bus was forced to stop by the Sri Lankan Army. Two soldiers entered the vehicle with rifles. The bus driver, who happened to be Singhalese, pleaded with the soldiers not to shoot anyone. He was the first person they shot, and second was my uncle, followed by the rest remaining in the overcrowded bus. One man at the back of the bus jumped out and pretended to be dead. He then quickly escaped before anyone noticed. It was this man that came in contact with my father many years later and described to him how my uncle had been killed.

What had happened was that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) had attacked an army barrack close by where many soldiers had died. The soldiers that survived then got together, started drinking todi (an alcoholic drink in Sri Lanka), and then proceeded on a rampage to get revenge. As a result they targeted innocent Tamil civilians.

My uncle, among the many others dead, was tied with rope to the back of an army truck and dragged back to base. The bodies were then hung on trees. My grandfather bravely went to the base to ask for his son's body for a proper burial. They allowed this on 2 conditions: That a document be signed to explain that my uncle had died from natural causes, and that the body be also cremated so that no evidence can be traced back. My family then did this as they had no other alternative.

My father's sisters told us that at the funeral, the government soldiers that were there all spat in my uncle's coffin in disrespect. My father, much like my mother's case, could not go to the funeral for the same reasons.

I share my stories with you, not for any personal reasons, but as examples of what has been going on in that island and unfortunetly continues to go on, even now. There are thousands of stories much like my family's, and in many cases much worse than what I've told you.

I hope that in your segments and in your quest for justice for people all over the world, that you will also take a look at those people suffering in Sri Lanka at the hands of the Sri Lankan Government. Bruce Fein, a former Secretary General under the Reagan Administration in the United States, has formed an organisation named, "Tamil's Against Genocide". Their goal is to track down those responsible for genocidal acts in Sri Lanka and bring the perpetrators under trial for war crimes.
Even though the murderers of my uncles may never be traced, I hope that many of the politicians, and army commanders responsible for genocidal acts today, are brought to justice.
Thank you very much for the time taken to read this.
Kind Regards,
Philip Alexander
Tags: christiane_amanpour
In response to assignment: Ask Christiane Amanpour
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Click to view ShanNalliah's profile ShanNalliah // 2 days ago
Each and every Tamil have a sad story!
When Sinhala people/leaders realise their mistakes and apologise for it and do justice/correct it?