Kiwi Tamils call on government to save their families

During the last two weeks most of the family members of an Auckland man were killed in a Sri Lankan military operation in the Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka.

Several other Kiwi Tamils fear for the lives of their immediate family members and are unaware of their whereabouts. Kiwi Tamils are fearful of publicly talking about the identity of those killed and displaced, as it may provoke reprisals against their remaining families in Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan government.

This was according to Mani Maniparathy of Wellington Tamil Society.

He said Both Auckland men, whose family members were killed in Sri Lanka, would like to travel to Vanni to be with their remaining family, but unable to do so because of travel blockade to Vanni and for the fear of their own life.

He added the whole of the Kiwi Tamil community is in utter despair and is desperate for peace.

“to demand an end to the war immediately. The most important thing is to bring peace to Sri Lanka so that more people are not killed and more Kiwi Tamils do not suffer like I have.” He said.

The other day representatives of the New Zealand Tamil community met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and with Grant Robertson (MP for Wellington Central and opposition’s Associate Foreign Affairs Spokesperson). T

He also said the New Zealand Tamil community is planning to meet with senior government parliamentarians in the near future. Kiwi Tamils are calling on the New Zealand government to help facilitate safe havens for civilians in the northern Vanni region of Sri Lanka by working through the United Nations.

Civilians estimated between 230,000 and 490,000 have been cornered into a war zone the size of Lower Hutt, where Sri Lankan military and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are engaged in fierce battle.