Mullivaikal Remembrance Day message - 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Dear brothers and sisters, it is now five years since the Mullivaikal massacre happened in May 2009.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all as we mark this day and honour the memory of so many of our fellow Tamils who perished in such terrible circumstances.
I deplore the government’s shameful and uncivilized attempts to ban commemorations of Mullivaikal in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka, whilst at the same time holding lavish victory day celebrations in the southern town of Matara and even forcing Tamil students to attend their victory parades in Tamil areas.
Those that died will never be forgotten and our desire for truth and accountability for what happened burns as brightly today as it did in 2009.
We believe that only on the basis of truth, justice and accountability, a peaceful future for all peoples in the island is possible.
In that sense we are encouraged by the recent resolution on Sri Lanka, at the UN Human Rights Council.
The initiation of a comprehensive and credible investigation, into the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides, is a significant step towards achieving justice for the victims of the armed conflict.
The reprehensible way that the Government of Sri Lanka has behaved in relation to this crucial issue and in the manner in which it continues to act towards many of its citizens, particularly Tamils, reaffirms why an independent, international investigation is so important.
We are already witnesses to what is happening today, when justice is not done and a culture of impunity takes hold.
Democracy is undermined, human rights are abused and discrimination runs rife, especially in the former armed conflict regions of the island.
The government’s program of the militarisation and the Sinhalisation of Tamil areas does great damage to the prospects of reconciliation and sustainable peace.
International scrutiny of the situation in the country is vital and that is why we, in the diaspora, must continue to do all we can to shed light on what is happening there, to support our people and to give our full backing to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as it conducts its investigation on Sri Lanka.
Unashamedly the Sri Lankan Government is trying to frighten and silence us from our duties as Tamils.
But we will struggle on for a just peace for all peoples of the island.
Rev Dr. S.J. Emmanuel
President
Global Tamil Forum