Marking the 17th anniversary of the Tamil genocide and the 50th anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution, the U.S.-based advocacy organisation PEARL has renewed calls for international accountability for war crimes and genocide against Tamils, while reaffirming the Eelam Tamil people’s right to self-determination.
In a statement released on May 18, the organisation said the twin anniversaries were a reminder that “the struggles for justice and self-determination remain unresolved and as critical as ever.”
PEARL highlighted the Sri Lankan state's genocidal military campaign in the Vanni during the final months of the armed conflict in 2009, alleging the deliberate denial of food and medicine to civilians, the bombardment of so-called “No Fire Zones”, and the systematic targeting of hospitals and humanitarian sites.
Citing figures from its report 'Justice for Genocide: Sri Lanka’s Responsibility for Genocide against the Tamil People in 2009', the organisation stated that between 70,000 and 169,796 Tamils remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
The statement also highlighted the symbolic role of Mullivaikkal Kanji at remembrance events, describing the thin rice porridge as a memorial to the starvation conditions imposed on Tamil civilians during the final stages of the war.
Despite what it described as “heavy intimidation, harassment, and surveillance” by Sri Lankan security forces, PEARL said Eelam Tamils continue to preserve remembrance practices and sustain demands for truth and justice.
Linking this year’s remembrance events to the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution, the organisation described the resolution as a historic declaration asserting the Tamil nation’s right to self-determination and calling for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam.
PEARL argued that decades of broken political promises, systemic discrimination, and Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism culminated in the adoption of the resolution by Tamil political leaders elected by the Tamil people. The statement further claimed that the destruction of the de facto Tamil Eelam administration in 2009 was intended not only to eliminate Tamil lives, but also to “extinguish any thoughts of liberation and self-determination from the Tamil people’s minds.”
Seventeen years after Mullivaikkal, the organisation said Tamil political demands remain unresolved, pointing to the continued militarisation of the North-East, Sinhalisation of Tamil lands and livelihoods, ongoing surveillance by security forces, and the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The statement also referenced the recent seizure of writings of Tamil writer and activist Theepachelvan, describing it as evidence that peaceful Tamil political thought and historical memory continue to face repression and censorship.
Calling for international action, PEARL urged the international community to pursue accountability mechanisms through institutions including the UN Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice. It also called for formal international recognition of the Tamil genocide.
The organisation further argued that any lasting political solution on the island must include recognition of the Tamil nation’s right to self-determination, as articulated in the Vaddukoddai Resolution.