Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed on by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Rudrakumaran Visvanathan, the ‘Prime Minister’ of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam We are also concerned about the environmental impact of any Chinese investments. This is consistent with Tamil sovereignty and the Tamil right to self-determination. In this regard, we the Tamils have taken a position that any Chinese presence in the Tamil areas should only be done with the consent of the Tamils. China has also set its sights on the Tamil areas. In essence, southern Sri Lanka is rapidly becoming a Chinese colony. Also, China has established a strong presence through its financing of the ‘Port City’ in the capital itself and has control over the Eastern Terminal of the Colombo Port. There is a clause prohibiting Hambantota for military purposes, but in reality, if China decides to use it for military purposes, tiny Sri Lanka will not be able to resist. It is feared that China will use it for military purposes. Since the lease agreement is sealed, we do not know the contents of the agreement. China has the Hambantota Harbour on a 99-year lease. In fact, in 2019, former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence gave an important speech regarding China’s debt trap, and he cited Sri Lanka as the case study.

As you mentioned, Sri Lanka is under a major debt trap by China. The Chinese are having a major presence in Sri Lanka and it seems that the Sri Lankan government is under a debt trap by China. 'The UK will engage with all members of the Sri Lankan community who share this goal whether overseas or in Sri Lanka.Tamil Eelam will become a reality in not too far future, which aims to realise accountability of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed by Sri Lanka against Tamil minority, said Rudrakumaran Visvanathan, the ‘Prime Minister’ of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). She admitted to being a member of the Tamil Tigers, who are banned in the EU as a terrorist organisation.īut the new Global Tamil Forum says it is a non-violent organisation which wants to campaign for self-determination for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamils.Ī Foreign Office spokesman said: 'The UK firmly believes that the only way to achieve lasting and equitable peace in Sri Lanka is through genuine national reconciliation. In the end, the mother managed to escape by bribing her way out of the camp.

Lochana said she was forced into a camp with her two daughters and contemplated suicide because conditions were so bad.

The forum wants international recognition for Tamils who she said have been 'broken' by the way they were crushed by government forces at the end of the civil war. Sky News is witholding her real name for fear of reprisals against her family in Sri Lanka - said she hoped there would be international recognition for the new Global Tamil Forum. The Tamils claim tens of thousands were killed by government forces, although nobody can independently verify exactly how many people died and the government disputes this figure.īut tens of thousands were driven into makeshift camps or fled from the country, including a woman Sky News spoke to who escaped to Britain with her two daughters. The conflict penetrated the heart of the country with the Tamil Tigers carrying out devastating suicide bombings in the 1990s.īut, in May last year, government forces seized the last areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels. They were seeking to protect themselves from discrimination at the hands of the ethnic Sinhalese majority. Sri Lankan activists are meeting senior British politicians in London at the start of a new campaign for an ethnic group crushed in the country's bitter civil war.įoreign Secretary David Miliband and his shadow counterpart William Hague are among the MPs in what is a cross-party sign of support for Tamil attempts for recognition following the bloody end to the conflict last year.įor decades, the Tamil Tigers fought a separatist war in Sri Lanka in the hope of creating an independent homeland for Tamils.

Tamill eelam