US House Representative Wiley Nickel told Congress that a resolution supporting an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils is a “crucial step towards healing, justice and a lasting peace”. Speaking at Congress on Thursday, Nickel said the resolution, which has Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, “recognizes the genocide in Sri Lanka and affirms the right of Tamils to self-determination through a democratic process”. This week I introduced a resolution recognizing the genocide in Sri Lanka, affirming the Tamil people's right to self-determination, & for an independence referendum to...
The Jaffna Teachers Association and student union denounced the move by the Sri Lankan government to stop remembrance commemorations ahead of May 18, also known as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. “These heavy-handed acts of the state also underline the ongoing ethnic hostility towards the Tamils and reconfirm the community’s long-standing conviction that the legal and judicial system of the Sri Lanka state will never deliver justice for the decades of ethnic oppression and ethnic violence the community has suffered,” the Jaffna University Teachers Association said. The teachers union asserts...
Jaffna - Kantharmadam An event was organized in Kantharmadam in Jaffna today to mark the sixth day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week as Tamils around the world commemorate 15 years since the Tamil genocide. Parents brought their children and explained to them the struggles of Tamils and how they were massacred during the final stages of the armed conflict. At the event, Mullivaikkal Kanji was prepared and served as a reminder of the genocide and atrocities committed by the Sri Lanka Security Forces. Mullaitivu Events were also held in Vallipunam in Mullaitivu where residents laid floral...
US House Representative Don Davis told Congress “we must stand with the Eelam Tamil community,” as he spoke to commemorate the 15 th anniversary of the Tamil genocide. “I rise to commemorate the 15 th anniversary of the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka,” the Democratic Representative told Congress. “We must stand with the Eelam Tamil community. Their struggle for justice and accountability continues, with survivors and their families enduring ongoing oppression and seeking recognition for their suffering from the Sri Lankan government.” “We must recognize the plight of the Tamil people and...
This week marks the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, when over 700,000 Palestinians were made refugees after they were expelled from their land by armed Israeli settlers. Fifteen years ago, Sri Lanka’s genocide led to the total military occupation of the North-East and an expanding programme of Sinhala settlements. Week after week, I join millions in demanding a ceasefire in Gaza because I come from a long tradition of Eelam Tamils who oppose the occupation of Palestine. We see direct parallels with the Tamil liberation struggle in the Palestinian liberation struggle. Both are rooted in a history that resists settler colonialism, occupation, and genocide. And, we remember the Tamil genocide as we bear witness to the genocide unfolding in Gaza.
Four Tamils have been released on bail after they arrested earlier this week for distrubuting kanji as part of commemorations to mark 15 years since the Tamil genocide. Kamaleswaran Themila, Kamaleswaran Vijitha, Kalirajah Sujani and Hariharakumar, were arrested by Sri Lankan police on Sunday night. Video footage shows Sri Lankan police officers dragging two of the women away during the arrest. Although the initial arrest and court order cited public health, the four were detained under section 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act. Section 3 of the act...
In a new report, the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) states that the risk of future enforced disappearances remains today as Sri Lanka has failed to “tackle structural weaknesses and to undertake necessary reform.”
A committee appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe will coordinate the allocation of public land to members of the Sri Lankan military. The Land Commissioner had mentioned in meetings with g overnment officials that the lands allocated for former members of Sri Lanka’s military needed to be more adequate. Acting on this Wickremesinghe proposed a cabinet paper to revise the methodology for granting lands to former members of Sri Lanka’s military. This includes the appointment of a committee comprising President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, the land commissioner, the Chairman of the...
Preparations are underway at Mullivaikkal memorial yard ahead of May 18, also known as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, despite surveillance by Sri Lankan navy. Sri Lankan naval officers were seen in a van circling the memorial yard as Tamils put up red and yellow flags as part of the final preparation for tomorrow's commemoration event. May 18 will mark 15 years since the Tamil genocide where as many as 169,796 Tamils were slaughtered by Sri Lanka. Each year, the Tamil nation marks the day despite intimidation and surveillance by Sri Lanka. Earlier this week, Tamils in Trincomalee were...
Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran called out the hypocrisy of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem in parliament this week, as the former Sri Lankan justice minister who lobbied against international accountability for the Tamil genocide, demanded his government cut ties with Israel over the “genocide in Gaza”. “We know what is like to have suffered this way, so we stand in solidarity,” the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP told the house, adding that members of parliament were being hypocritical when it comes to Tamil people and Palestinians.