On May 5-7, 2018, academics from around the world came together to take part in the ‘Second International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka’ at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
This conference, organized by a range of different Tamil organizations in Canada, was attended by a wide audience, from young diaspora activists to academics from around the world, as well as those who have lived through the final massacres of the armed conflict.
The conference had a focus on five themes: Sinhala Buddhist ethno-nationalism and its consequences in Sri Lanka, human rights violations and the search for justice, genocide by any other name, diaspora resources and responsibilities, and rebuilding the Tamil nation in today’s geo-political context. A final session was dedicated towards examining the way forward.
Throughout the conference, over 20 contributed papers were presented, all by a number of researchers, distinguished scholars, authors, columnists, and activists. Two keynote speakers addressed the opening sessions on each day; Ms. Anuradha Mittal from the Oakland Institute in California, and Dr. Richard Mann from the College of the Humanities at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Anuradha Mittal stated “this is an international issue of human rights, which requires international solutions and the international community to be involved here” and spoke on the militarisation of the Tamil homeland and the continued occupation by the Sri Lankan military.
 |
 |
Dr. Richard Mann stated “the Sri Lankan government’s constructed definition of Tamils as terrorists, separatists, and anti-national, is an attempt to disguise state violence against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka as anti-terrorists as opposed to state-generated violence, better called genocide.”
Speakers throughout the weekend touched on a range of issues, including on the search for justice, the recognition of the genocide of the Tamil nation in Sri Lanka, the future of the Tamil struggle and post war rebuilding of the Tamil nation. The organizing committee also together brought a resolution to be presented at the Canadian parliament.
See some of our live tweets from the event here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
