Vigneswaran Request to President to Save lives of Hunger Strikers

In Vavuniya men and women who are on a “fast unto death” to find solutions  for their sons and daughter’ s  involuntary disappearances and release of political prisonersare getting very weak and they may lose their lives.

Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V. Vigneswaran, has  made an urgent appeal  to President Maithripala Sirisena to send a senior minister to Vavuniya to assure the men and women,  who are on a “fast unto death’’.

The  visiting   government Minister should take steps to address their demands regarding forced disappearances and political prisoners.   In a letter to the President, Vigneswaran pointed out that the hunger strikers, who are not even drinking water, are getting very weak and entering into a dangerous situation . “Unless something is done immediately we may lose the valuable lives of some of the Satyagrahis.”

I am sure Your Excellency will not let down our people.” “Your government came into power inter alia with the goodwill and franchise of our people. Your Government opined that the PTA must be withdrawn, that Political Prisoners must be given an Amnesty, that immediate steps must be taken to inquire into the fate of missing persons and so on. But the Office of Missing Persons is presently only in name. It has no teeth. Even if it starts functioning in earnest, the Panel of Inquirers cannot take effective steps against military suspects. They need to forward their views to the courts, consequently resulting in heavy delay,” Vigneswaran concluded.