Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

'And still we will go on, as yet more youth come forward' - TYO-UK

Members of the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO-UK) addressed crowds across multiple events held in the UK for Remembrance Day.

See here for TYO's 2011 Remembrance Day address. Extracts reproduced below:

"From Egypt and Libya, to those being killed on the streets of Syria, the youth have always and will always be the vanguard of any nation's struggle for freedom.

Our struggle is no different.

From Sivakumar, the Jaffna student who committed suicide to escape torture in police custody in 1974, to Thileepan who fasted unto his death in 1987, to the valiant sacrifice of our heroes.

The Tamil youth of every generation have protested against the Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism they faced, and campaigned for the freedom of our people. The youth displayed a resolve like no other to struggle for what is right and just.

And we - Eelam's youth of today - who have now been entrusted with this incredible honour, possess that very same resolve."

"In countries across the world, the Tamil youth, as a combined global force have worked tirelessly on similar campaigns and protest events. And still we will go on as yet more youth come forward."

"Our nation's freedom, our nation's security, our nation's very existence, lie in independence. Eelam is the only answer to truly lasting peace. This conviction is not the words of young blood, thirsty for war. 

"On this day of all days, we the Tamil nation know full well the price of a struggle for freedom.

"Our conviction is based on a reasoned analysis of events, both past and present - a genocide of our nation took place; it continues to take place; and in over 60 years, not one single olive branch or move towards equality has occurred, to give us even an inkling of hope that the future will be any different to the past."

"On this day we - Eelam's youth - say to you: it is this on-going genocide of our nation, that makes us yearn for an independent, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam.

"We, the youth, are not here to wait for tomorrow. We are our nation's today."

"Eelam's struggle for peace goes on."

[more]

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.