The Tamil Students Association (TaVS – Tamilscher Verein der Studierenden) in Switzerland hosted an event discussing the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
Over 200 people, mainly Tamil youth, convened at the University of Zurich in March, for a panel discussion and documentary screening.
The panel discussion with Mario Arulthas (Advocacy Director, PEARL), Yves Bowie (Campaign Leader, Society for Threatened Peoples) and Prof. Dr. Benedikt Korf (Political Geography, University of Zurich), covered topics of militarisation, Sinhala Buddhist nationalism and ongoing human rights abuses. Anina Mathivannan from TaVS moderated the panel.
Mr Arulthas highlighted how Sinhala Buddhist nationalism had driven conflict and persecution of other ethnic communities on the island, further noting that Tamil resistance to Sinhala nationalism predated the armed struggle of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Professor Benedikt Korf spoke on his field research in Sri Lanka noting that an end to extreme nationalism was needed to end ethnic conflict on the island.
Yves Bowie spoke on his field research in the North-East and shared stories of land grabbing by the military.
The documentary Sri Lanka – Gegen das Vergessen, directed by Vanessa Dougnac and Fabrice Launay and produced by Arte France, was also screened at the event. The film outlined atrocities committed at the end of the armed conflict in 2009 and highlighted rights abuses under ongoing militarisation of the North-East.
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Donations from the event were donated to Aadayalam Centre for Policy and Research, an advocacy think tank situated in Jaffna.
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