Penang Forum puts pressure on Sri Lanka

Human Rights activists who gathered at the Penang International Forum on human rights have called on the Sri Lankan Government to take concrete steps to further reconciliation and to complete it in a meaningful and just manner.

The forum was opened by Chief Minister of Penang Lim Kit Siang. He said no efforts should be spared until the Tamils in that country were restored to their human rights and the truth, The Sun Daily reported.

"The future lies in concrete and meaningful steps in Sri Lanka supported by the international community which upholds justice, truth and reconciliation," he said in his keynote speech at the International Forum on Human Rights Violations in Sri Lanka.Penang Society of Advancement of Tamils, decided to organize a one-day international forum on human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The focus was on the human rights released by the UN Office of Investigation on Sri Lanka and the subsequent resolution that was proposed by the US in the UN Human Rights Council in late September 2015.

It is also alleged that there were attempts on the part of the Sri Lankan High Commission to cancel the forum.

According to the malaysiakini.com, letters were sent to the chief minister of Penang asking him to cancel the forum as it was organized by 'pro-LTTE elements.'

Sun Daily/Malaysiakini