Tamil families of the disappeared held a protest in Mankulam this week, marking the 3007th consecutive day of their campaign to demand justice for their forcibly disappeared loved ones.
The demonstration is part of a continuous protest movement that began on 8 March 2017 in the Mullaitivu district and has since become the longest-running protest on the island. Spearheaded largely by Tamil women, many of them elderly mothers, this movement has borne witness to years of unanswered questions and unacknowledged grief, in the face of state inaction and continued impunity.
True to their practice of organising regionally focused protests every month, today’s demonstration brought together families from Thunukkai, Mankulam, and Maanthai East. Participants carried photographs of their missing relatives and placards demanding international accountability.
The protesters reiterated a consistent message: that justice cannot be found within Sri Lanka’s domestic systems. "Only international intervention can bring justice," they stated, denouncing the Sri Lankan state's repeated failures to investigate or hold accountable those responsible for the enforced disappearances.
Among those in attendance were families of the disappeared, religious leaders, civil society activists, and Member of Parliament Thurairatnasingham Ravikaran, who has frequently voiced support for the protestors' demands.
Over the years, Tamil families across the North-East have continued to search for answers, despite repeated government pledges and international scrutiny. Thousands remain missing, including those who surrendered to the Sri Lankan military at the end of the armed conflict in May 2009. To date, no one has been held accountable for these disappearances.
