Marking the 15th anniversary of the Sencholai massacre, in which Sri Lanka’s airforce massacred 53 school girls by bombing the Sencholai orphanage, British Tamils continue their demands for justice.
The demonstrations were organised by the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO).
Speaking at a protest outside Westminster, one of the demonstrators stated:
“15 years since the Sencholai massacre; the massacre which stripped 53 young school girls from us. These girls had gone to Sencholai from neighbouring schools to equip themselves with the knowledge to help those who were suffering from the genocidal acts of the Sri Lankan state. What were their humanitarians acts met with? Murder. The Sri Lankan State was well aware of the humanitarian zones. Yet they systematically planned and murdered our children with their weapons. We remember every single one of these girls, their names, their sacrifice, and the Eelam that they lived for”.
“Tamilarin thaagam Tamil eelam thayagam" - The thirst of Tamils is for the Tamil Eelam Homeland.
On August 14 2006, four Sri Lankan air force jets flew over the Vanni and dropped sixteen bombs over the Sencholai children's home for orphans, killing 53 school girls and 3 teachers.
The children's home had been designated a humanitarian zone and its GPS coordinates had been passed to the Sri Lankan military via the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC).
Despite the passage of fifteen years, no official has been held accountable for this massacre. Similar protests were held in Germany and across the Tamil homeland.
Read more about the massacre here: Remembering the Sencholai massacre 15 years on
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