 |
Honouring Murugathasan Varnakulasingham - the Tamil youth who, outraged at international apathy and inaction in the face of the genocide of Tamils, self-immolated in protest outside the United Nations in Geneva on 12th February 2009 - young British Tamils at the Tamil Youth Organisation UK (TYO-UK) erected a memorial stone in his memory.
 |
Designed by youth at the TYO-UK, and created with the support of TCC UK, the tombstone is engraved with Murugathasan's parting words, written in a letter in Tamil: "the flames over my body will be a torch to guide you through the liberation path."
 |
Speaking to Tamil Guardian, a member from TYO UK said,
"Murugathasan anna's outrage and agony at seeing the events of 2009 moved Tamil youth around the world. His death is, and always will be a great loss to our nation. Yet, we remain humbled by his conviction, and his passion."
"His determination to speak out against injustice.. against the genocide of our nation, is an inspiration to all of us. Especially to us the youth, and that's why we wanted to honour his memory."
See also:
Murugathasan remembered three years on (21 Feb 2012)
Remembering Murugathas Anna (24 Feb 2011)
Anniversary of Murugathasan’s death marked in Geneva (24 Feb 2010)
British Tamils pay tribute to ‘hero’ Varnakulasingham (18 March 2009)
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.
