Marking 10 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18^th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’. The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final months is widely contested. After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed. Local census records indicate that at least 146,679 people are unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed during the Sri Lankan military offensive.

The Mullivaikal Remembrance Public Forum, the collective responsible for organising remembrance activities in the North-East on the tenth anniversary of the Tamil genocide made a declaration on May 18, calling for the continued unity of the Tamil nation to struggle for justice and self-determination.

As part of a collaborative project marking the 10th year since the end of the war in Sri Lanka, today the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Tamil Guardian and 47 Roots, launched: www.RememberMay2009.com. 

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) released a poetry anthology and musical record to mark ten years since the Mullivaikkal massacres.

Ten years since the end of the armed conflict, Sri Lanka remains divided. Far from the promise of stability and unity, the fractures that have plagued the country since independence, continue to define the relationships within the island. Sri Lanka has failed to become what the international community expected it would, when the war ended ten years ago - a stable, peaceful, pluralist state founded on liberal, democratic principles. To the Tamils this is unsurprising. The failure to ‘fix’ Sri Lanka begins with the failure to acknowledge the toxic Sinhala Buddhist ethnocracy in its core.

Canadian politicians have been joining the Tamil community to mark the tenth year of Mullivaikkal and Tamil genocide remembrance in the lead up to May 18.

Speaking in Parliament, Gary Anandasangaree MP said:

The Sri Lankan military today set up check points at both main entrances to Mullivaikkal beach, registering those passing through, just hours before Tamils plan to gather Mullivaikkal genocide remembrance events, set to take place tomorrow.

The skeletal remains of an LTTE cadre were found today in Mullivaikkal, adjacent to a Sri Lankan military camp of the 681 Brigade. 

Marking the tenth anniversary of the end of the armed conflict, Switzerland's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hanspeter Mock said "cycles of violence can only be stopped if the government ensures that perpetrators can no longer enjoy impunity."

In a statement issued today, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks against civilians and members of the Christian community in the capital Colombo and other cities, coupled with the ensuing clashes and assaults against ethnic minorities and refugees, showed that the root causes of the conflict have not yet been addressed." 

"Switzerland condemns the intolerance and violence that have led to tremendous suffering in Sri Lanka over the last few decades, and offers it sincere condolences to the victims' families."

To mark the tenth anniversary of massacre that took place at the end of the armed conflict in Mullivaikkal on May 18, 2009, over sixty Tamil Diaspora organisations signed a declaration of solidarity to work towards justice for genocide, demilitarisation and Tamil self-determination.

“On 18 May 2019, ten years since the Sri Lankan state’s genocide against the Tamil nation reached its peak, we stand in solidarity with our brethren in their quest for justice," the organisations said in a joint statement.  

Local government bodies and places of worship across the North-East held remembrance events for May 2009 this week ahead of the main event tomorrow at Mullivaikkal where thousands of people are expected to attend at the site of the final phase of the armed conflict and where tens of thousands were massacred by the Sri Lankan armed forces. 

Tamils gathered in Neduntheevu on Wednesday to remember the thirty-six Tamils massacred by Sri Lankan navy officers on board the Kumuthini boat on May 15, 1985. 

Families of the disappeared in Vavuniya this week urged Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court as they held a token fast in tribute to the tens of thousands massacred by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009. 

Eleven people were arrested this week in Point Pedro by police, including two Tamil business owners and 9 Muslim men.