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'Tamil remembrance on Maaveerar Naal is a bulwark against Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy' - PEARL

Tamil remembrance activities marking Maaveerar Naal are "a bulwark against Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy" the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) said today. 

In a statement, the US based advocacy organisation highlighted the intensifying crackdown on Tamil memorialisation "with the Sri Lankan state using judicial and extrajudicial methods to prohibit and prevent commemoration events." 

"The state’s insistence on obstructing Tamil memory is intrinsically linked to the roots of the conflict in Sri Lanka," the statement noted. 

"The brave defiance consistently shown on a large scale across the North-East in commemorating such days, and Maaveerar Naal in particular, is not only an indication of deeply held Tamil nationalist sentiments and sympathies towards the struggle for liberation, it also belies the claims from Sri Lanka that the ethnic conflict has been resolved," PEARL added. 

"Sri Lanka views Tamil remembrance days through the same lens as the virtually unanimous demand for an internationalised accountability mechanism for the Tamil genocide — a threat to Sinhala Buddhist hegemony on the island."

Sri Lanka launched an intensive crackdown today as Tamils marked Maaveerar Naal in the homeland. Sri Lankan soldiers blocked mourners across the North-East and security forces arrested at least one prominent Tamil activist, whilst Tamils across the region attempted to mark Maaveerar Naal.

"Every year, the commemoration activities around Maveerar Naal are powerful reminders that Tamil nationalist mobilization and the legacy of the armed movement remain one of the strongest bulwarks against Sri Lanka’s genocidal nation-building project," the statement concluded. 

Read the full statement in English here and in Tamil here

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