A memorial discussion titled “Mirage of Justice” was held in Jaffna on Monday in remembrance of Dr Kasipillai Manoharan, who courageously fought for justice for the five Tamil students shot and killed by the Sri Lankan military in Trincomalee in 2006, as well as in memory of the murdered youths themselves.
The event took place at the Chelvanayagam Auditorium, where participants paid floral tributes to a portrait of Dr Manoharan, who passed away last month.
Dr Manoharan became a symbol of Tamil perseverance after dedicating nearly two decades to seeking justice for his son, Ragihar, and the other students murdered by Sri Lankan security forces in what became one of the island’s most emblematic human rights cases. Despite international attention and repeated calls for accountability, no one has ever been convicted for the killings.
Monday’s discussion brought together a range of Tamil political leaders, academics, journalists, and activists to reflect on Dr Manoharan’s legacy and the enduring failure of justice in Sri Lanka. Among those in attendance were Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam MP, political analyst M Nilanthan, political activist E Rajivkanth, journalist A Nixon, University of Jaffna Political Science Head Dr T Vigneswaran, attorney Srinath Perera of the Zakkiya Socialist Party, and former parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran.
Speakers paid tribute to Dr Manoharan’s lifelong struggle and discussed the wider implications of his campaign for justice within the Tamil struggle for accountability. The event also served as a space to reaffirm continued calls for international investigations into Sri Lanka’s war crimes and systemic failures to prosecute perpetrators.
Dr Manoharan’s death has been widely mourned by Tamils around the world, who see his life as a testament to the persistence of truth-seeking despite relentless intimidation and impunity.
