A banner displayed during Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorations in Mullivaikkal yesterday honoured Tamil Canadians and Patrick Brown Mayor of Brampton, following the recent inauguration of a Tamil Genocide Monument in the Canadian city.
The banner, prominently placed near the Mullivaikkal memorial, featured a photograph of Mayor Brown speaking at a podium, alongside images of the newly unveiled monument. The tribute, written in both Tamil and English, expressed appreciation for his support in recognising the genocide committed against Tamils by the Sri Lankan state in May 2009.
It read:
“On behalf of the Tamil people of Eelam
we dedicate our sincere gratitude to Hon.
Mayor Patrick Brown as well as the people of Canada.
Your courage and perseverance in
recognizing the truth of genocide against
the innocent Tamils of Eelam at the time
we being beaten and chased from our mother lands,
provides us strength in our minds.
The Tamil Nation will ever remember you.
Our Brothers and Sisters of the world, Let’s be united for the Nation!”
Earlier this month, Brown joined Tamil organisations in Brampton for the unveiling of a permanent Tamil Genocide Monument.
The move sparked outrage from the Sri Lankan government. Colombo responded by summoning Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka for a formal protest and publicly rejected the characterisation of the mass killings as genocide. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement conveyed its “strong objections” to what it called “unfounded genocide allegations” and condemned Canada’s approval for the monument’s construction.
Despite this backlash, the monument has been widely welcomed by Tamil Canadians and the global Tamil diaspora as a landmark step in the long campaign for recognition and justice.