Elected parliamentarians from the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and Thamizh Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK) paid tribute at Mullivaikal this week, in poignant ceremonies ahead of the lawmakers taking up office.
TMTK leader and former Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran paid his respects at the site last week, where tens of thousands of Tamils were killed in a Sri Lankan military offensive in 2009.
" I stand and pray at the grave of our relatives who lost their lives in May 2009," Wigneswaran said at the site. "This is where the genocide of Mullivaikkal took place in the struggle for ethnic liberation."
"Praying that the souls of the dead may rest in peace, I begin my parliamentary journey from here."
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, leader of the TNPF and an MP elected from Jaffna, paid his tribute by lighting candles and offering flowers along with Selvarajah Kajendren, General Secretary of the party and MP nominated through the National List.
The event took place in the presence of TNPF supporters as the MPs expressed their solemn resolve to deliver justice to the Tamil people.
Running a campaign that pledged to work towards international criminal justice for genocide committed against the Tamil people, the TNPF won two seats in the recently concluded parliamentary elections.
This election marks the first time the party is sending representatives to Colombo. Its rise has diversified the Tamil political arena where the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held the majority of seats across the North-East, until before this election took place.
