Relatives of those who were forcibly disappeared held a protest in Vavuniya this week, marking ten years of their continuous struggle for truth and justice.
The demonstration took place in front of the roadside pavilion opposite the Vavuniya District Secretariat, where families have maintained an ongoing vigil for 3,291 days.
The protest is part of a sustained campaign by relatives of the disappeared across the Tamil homeland, who have been demanding information on the fate of their loved ones.
Participants held aloft photographs of the disappeared, many of whom were last seen in the custody of Sri Lankan security forces during the final stages of the Mullivaikkal genocide. Families have long maintained that their relatives were forcibly disappeared following surrender or arrest by the Sri Lankan military.
During the demonstration, protesters also carried the flags of the United States and the European Union, reflecting calls for international involvement and accountability. For years, families of the disappeared have appealed to the international community to press the Sri Lankan state to reveal the fate of those who vanished and to end impunity for enforced disappearances.
Enforced disappearances remain one of the most enduring legacies of the genocide. Tens of thousands of Eelam Tamils were disappeared over decades of state repression, particularly during the final months of the armed conflict in 2009. Despite repeated domestic commissions and investigations, families say no credible answers have been provided.
Successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to deliver justice or accountability, and mechanisms established by the state have been widely rejected by Tamil families, who point to a pattern of denial and inaction. The continued militarisation of the North-East and the absence of credible prosecutions have reinforced concerns over entrenched impunity.
The protest in Vavuniya forms part of a wider, long-running mobilisation by families across the Tamil homeland, including in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee. Despite surveillance, intimidation and political pressure, relatives of the disappeared have sustained their campaign in the face of ongoing state repression.
As the protest marked a decade of continuous struggle, families reiterated their determination to continue their fight for truth, justice and accountability for the disappeared.
