Vaiko confronted by Sri Lankan group at UNHRC in Geneva

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko, who addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Monday, said that he was confrunted by a Sri Lankan woman and a few former army personnel for speaking about alleged war crimes committed during the last phase of the civil war in the island nation.

“After I completed my speech, a woman approached me and questioned my right to speak against Sri Lanka when I was not a citizen of the country. I told her that I was from Tamil Nadu, and we had an ‘umbilical cord relationship’ with Sri Lankan Tamils. A few former army personnel surrounded me and accused me of supporting LTTE, describing it as a terrorist organisation,” Mr. Vaiko told The Hindu from Geneva over phone.

“I responded to their allegation, saying they killed lakhs of Tamils including infants and women. I told them that they raped Tamil women. The entire incident was recorded by a few [persons] inside the council, though videographing was not allowed. It was a deliberate attempt to prevent me from coming to the council,” he charged.

Earlier, the MDMK leader said that even though the UNHRC had made a lot of recommendations as early as in 2012, the Sri Lankan government had not implemented even one of those recommendations.

“The UNHRC should ensure that the Sri Lankan Army is removed from the Tamil areas to save Tamils from extinction,” he said.

DMK working president M.K. Stalin issued a statement condemning the incident and urged the Centre to express its condemnation of the incident to Sri Lanka.

Source: The Hindu

-Agencies