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The Human Rights of Tamils being Violated not by Sinhalese but Tamils – Dharmadasa

The Hon. Secretary of Global Sri Lankan Forum (GSLF) stated that it is important for the Council to know even at this late stage that, if the human rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka are being violated it is not by the Sinhalese but by the Tamils themselves, that is, by the discrimination and harassment to which the Tamil lower castes are subjected by the Tamil higher castes. 

 

Yasas Dharmadasa highlighted this bitter truth to the world human rights champions  at the 39th  session of UNHRC held in Geneva on 25th Sep. 2018.

The video of the speech can be watched on this link:

https://www.facebook.com/100001495424097/posts/2090174257709068/

The full text of the speech delivered by Dharmadasa is as follows;

 

Mr. President,

Today we speak of technical assistance and capacity building.  Pursuant to resolution 30/1 of October 2015, the Council has been providing technical assistance to improve the human rights situation in Sri Lanka in particular to bring about reconciliation between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority.

It is important for the Council to know even at this late stage that, if the human rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka are being violated it is not by the Sinhalese but by the Tamils themselves, that is, by the discrimination and harassment to which the Tamil lower castes are subjected by the Tamil higher castes. 

To take just a few examples:  In the Northern Province where the Tamils predominate, the lower castes are not permitted to bathe in the same wells as the higher castes.

For many years, the children of the lower castes were not permitted to attend schools, and when they finally did, they had to sit on benches outside the classrooms rather than inside the classrooms with the children of the higher castes.

Tamils of the lower castes are not permitted to enter the religious temples of the higher castes and if they do the temple is cleansed with holy water.  

To this day, the Tamil lower castes cannot own land in the Northern Province because of the personal laws of the Tamils.

There are reports that the blood-bank of the government hospital in Jaffna is short of blood because the Tamil higher castes do not donate blood in fear that it will be given to the lower castes.  The blood-bank of the Jaffna hospital has to be regularly replenished from blood provided by the Sinhalese from the South. 

The sad reality in Sri Lanka is that, to the extent  the Tamil lower castes have been able to have even a modicum of justice and economic security it is because of the legal system of the Sinhalese, including statutes specifically enacted to safeguard the rights of those lower castes.

I urge the Council to undertake a thorough study of the situation of the Tamil lower castes in Sri Lanka as part of its technical assistance under resolution 30/1. 

 

Thank You

 

 



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