Diaspora Tamil Community urges Boycott of Goods and Services from Sri Lanka

London - One million Tamils from Sri Lanka displaced throughout the world, especially Europe, America, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and many other countries due to the ongoing civil war between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for over three decades.

The British Tamils Forum is urging its Diaspora Tamil community to immediately boycott the use of the Sri Lankan’s Air Line when they traveling to other places from where they are residing also, all the goods and services from Sri Lanka citing, Sri Lanka is using the foreign exchange earner from goods and services they sell it to the a million strong Tamil Diaspora to fight the war with Tamils cause mayhem and destructions to the Tamil people in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, since the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has unilaterally withdrew from the February 22, 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), one million strong Diaspora community worries about their brethrens back home and are willing to go to that extra mile to assist their helpless loved ones, as the world at large is relatively unwilling to come to the assistance of the Tamils. They also calling for a total boycott of the Sri Lankan groceries, tea, garments and other related products that are produced in Sri Lanka as they feel every pound they spent to wage savage war against Tamils.

Sri Lanka embarked on near daily aerial bombardments in the densely populated areas of Killinochchi, Mullaiteevu and other areas causing deaths and destructions to the people including school children. Diaspora Tamil community is strongly convinced that their money which spent on the Sri Lankan air lines, groceries, garments other items imported from Sri Lanka tainted with their own brethrens blood and flushes and calling to boycott of the products.

Ivan Pedropillai, of the British Tamils Forum says, there are 300,000 Tamils from Sri Lanka living in the U.K. alone and claimed that the Diaspora Tamil community spent approximately 12 million sterling pounds per annum on the Sri Lankan air lines and close to 100 million sterling pounds spent on the Sri Lankan groceries, garments and other items imported from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan government using all its foreign exchange earners from the Diaspora community together with the other forms of financial aid from many countries are diverted and being used to fight the destructive war against Tamils, said the British Tamils Forum.

"The Sri Lankan government has abandoned all pretence of observing a ceasefire while resorting to an escalating war on the Tamils corralled into an ever tightening military cordon in their traditional homeland," said Ivan Pedropillai, of the British Tamils Forum.

"We appeal to our fellow Tamils ... to understand that traveling with Sri Lankan Airlines is tantamount to paying the government of Sri Lanka to buy the weaponry with which to kill our own people in their homeland in Sri Lanka.

"We appreciate that flying with other airlines to Colombo may involve some delay in transit stopovers."

He also urged Britons to avoid taking holidays in Sri Lanka: "We extend this appeal to our other British compatriots who want to travel on holidays to Sri Lanka to think of the deaths and destruction that their money paid will eventually cause among the Tamils of Sri Lanka and to kindly avoid such travel."

Sources at the Sri Lankan High Commission declined to comment on the call on the British Tamils Forum and said that such campaigns had failed in the past.

"They have tried many times to request the Tamil expatriate community living in the UK to boycott even Sri Lankan products," the source said, "but they failed. The people did not listen. They are trying to find an opportunity to hit the Sri Lankan government.

"The government decided to abrogate the treaty because there's no point in having a document that serves no purpose.

"The Tamil Tigers were carrying out atrocities even before the treaty was ended."

"They have tried many times to request the Tamil expatriate community living in the UK to boycott even Sri Lanklan products," the source said, "but they failed. The people did not listen. They are trying to find an opportunity to hit the Sri Lankan government.

"The government decided to abrogate the treaty because there's no point in having a document that serves no purpose.

"The Tamil Tigers were carrying out atrocities even before the treaty was ended."

“It is time for our fellow Tamils to boycott all Sri Lankan goods and services available. We Tamils living outside the country are helping GoSL to earn foreign exchange earner and to kill our loved once back home,’ said Mani Maran from London who was migrated to UK after the 1983 pogrom against Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Just a small breakdown of how the Sri Lankan exports earned the foreign exchange in two countries namely Australia and Canada.

Major Australian imports From Sri Lanka, 2004-05(A$m):

Tea and mate 28 Million

Clothing 14 Million

Rubber Tires 9 Million

Clay construction materials 3 Millon

Articles of iron or steel 3 Million

Year Sri-Lanka’s exports to Canada in Million

1992 40.7

1993 44.1

1994 67.7

1995 76.4

1996 71.5

1997 83.0

1998 96.5

1999 92.00

2000 137.05

Jan-Sep 2001 95.26

“What we the Tamil Diaspora community is doing when we purchase goods and services from Sri Lanka are actually contributing nothing but death to innocent Tamil people. One of those innocent people may be one of our Sister, Brother, Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt, Niece, Nephew, or your neighbor. Do you know that if you buy a product from Sri Lanka, you also directly responsible for all those innocent death? One MD jam can kill 20 Innocent people,” said a Tamil community leader in London.

Enforced abductions, disappearances, massacres, extra-judicial killings, and mass displacements of civilians in Sri Lanka are real and serious concerns to most of the human rights organizations and governments around the world, a rights activist said.

In contrary to the believe of the London High Commission sources, if the Tamil Diaspora community at large determined to not to buy any goods and services imported or sold from Sri Lanka even starting from today, severe dent can be inflicted on the Sri Lanka’s ability wage this savage war against our Tamil brethrens in Sri Lanka and sure to save the lives and destructions of our kin and kith who are continue to live in hopes back home, Sivaraman, another Tamil Londoner fled Sri Lanka after 1983 racial riots against Tamils told TNS.

Source: tamileelamnews.com