Tamil families of the disappeared held a memorial in Vavuniya today to pay tribute to His Holiness Pope Francis, who passed away yesterday in the Vatican.
The Association of Relatives of the Disappeared, who have sustained a continuous roadside protest for years demanding answers on the fate of their missing loved ones, held the tribute at their regular protest site in front of the Road Development Authority office in Vavuniya.
During the ceremony, members lit a ceremonial lamp and laid floral tributes before a portrait of the late Pope.
“We join in the sorrow of the global Christian community, which is mourning the loss of the Pope,” said members of the association.
The association’s ongoing protest, largely led by Tamil women, is the longest-running demonstration on the island, highlighting the continued struggle for justice in the North-East. Many of the families have spent years demanding international intervention, having lost faith in Sri Lanka’s domestic accountability mechanisms such as the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), which has failed to provide answers in any of the tens of thousands of enforced disappearance cases.
The tribute to Pope Francis comes as Tamil families continue to call for greater international attention to their plight.
Over the years, several families and advocacy groups have appealed to global religious and political leaders, including the Vatican, urging them to support calls for justice and accountability for Sri Lanka’s mass disappearances.
