Vanni District Parliamentarian Thurairasa Ravikaran delivered a speech in the Sri Lankan Parliament this month expressing gratitude to the Canadian government for its sustained support of Tamil efforts to recognise and secure justice for the victims of the Mullivaikkal genocide.
Ravikaran specifically acknowledged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s public statement on the 16th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, in which Carney expressed his condolences and reiterated Canada’s commitment to international accountability for crimes committed against the Tamil people.
“I bow my head in this House of Representatives, as a representative of the people of Vanni, to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who understands the feelings of the Tamil community and shares our grief,” said Ravikaran. “Canada’s continued support to pursue international accountability gives great comfort to our people.”
He also extended his appreciation to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown for inaugurating the Tamil Genocide Memorial in Brampton. “The memorial offers renewed hope and strength to victims and survivors still seeking justice sixteen years after the end of the armed conflict in 2009,” he stated.
Ravikaran underlined the enduring trauma and pain carried by Tamil survivors of the Sri Lankan state’s military offensive in May 2009.
“One and a half decades have passed since the Mullivaikkal Tamil genocide. Sixteen years have passed,” he said. “Those who survived the final stages of the war continue to live with the scars and cruel memories of that period. They are the witnesses of the Tamil genocide.”
He emphasised that Tamils on the island and in the diaspora continue to demand justice and accountability. “Every year on May 18, our relatives remember the Tamil genocide,” Ravikaran said. “Through this, they demand justice, and they continue to insist that those who carried it out must be punished. Our people have been waiting for justice for the past 16 years.”
The MP’s speech comes in the wake of global commemorations marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, particularly in diaspora hubs such as Toronto, London, and Paris. This year, thousands of Tamil Canadians gathered at the newly unveiled memorial in Brampton, reinforcing calls for international recognition of the genocide and the prosecution of those responsible.
In his closing remarks, Ravikaran reiterated his appreciation for Canada’s role. “I welcome Canada’s support for us on the issue of Tamil genocide, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown,” he concluded.
