We, the leading Tamil diaspora organisations, extend our full support for the forthcoming general strike (hartal) that has been scheduled in the traditional homeland of Tamils in the North & East of Sri Lanka on Tuesday – 25th April 2023 and cordially invite all other diaspora organisations to provide support leaving behind their differences aside at this crucial time.
The purposes of the hartal are:
• To reject the Anti-terrorism Bill that is to be submitted in the Sri Lankan parliament for ratification, because it is worse than the current Prevention of Terrorism Act.
• To oppose the racist state’s premediated actions of committing structural genocide and denying the Tamil people of their inalienable right to self-determination by carrying out:
o Land grab.
o Colonisation of the traditional homeland of the Tamil people with Sinhala people from the south
o Destruction of evidence on Tamil heritage.
o Demolition of historical Hindu temples and replacing them with Buddhist viharas, all aimed at distorting and denying the long history of the Tamil people in their traditional homeland in the North-East of the island.
We extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation of all political parties, religious groups, trade unions, university students and other civil society groups who have initiated and are conducting this hartal, and we encourage them to continue with organising similar integrated and coordinated actions in future.
We call upon all Tamil people living in Sri Lanka and the Tamil political parties to unite and participate in this hartal to demonstrate our unified strength to the Sinhala-Buddhist state, Sinhala majority and to the international community.
Thank you.