Hundreds of students at the University of Jaffna gathered solemnly in front of the Mullivaikkal memorial on campus this week to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, marking 16 years since the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan military during the final stages of the armed conflict.
The annual event, organised by student unions and held at the heart of the university grounds, drew large crowds once more this year. Students lit candles, laid flowers, and held moments of silence in front of the stone monument dedicated to those who perished at Mullivaikkal in May 2009.
The Mullivaikkal memorial, erected and reconstructed after it was destroyed by authorities in 2021, has become a potent symbol of Tamil resistance, memory, and grief.
May 18 is recognised by Tamils around the world as a day of mourning and remembrance, commemorating the genocide committed by the Sri Lankan military in 2009. The United Nations estimates that at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the final weeks of the war, though Tamil groups and independent researchers say the actual number may be much higher – as many as 169,796.
Despite surveillance, threats, and occasional bans on commemorative events in the North-East, Tamil students at the University of Jaffna have remained at the forefront of remembrance, asserting their collective memory and right to mourn.
