Tamils gathered by the destroyed Thileepan monument in Nallur on Saturday to take part in one of the many Maaveerar Naal commemorative events taking place across the North-East on November 27. Despite military officers being stationed around the region, events this year took a more defiant tone to recent years when Maaveerar Naal was marked covertly.
Today, Tamils across the globe will collectively light candles, lay flowers and bow heads in memory of those who gave their lives resisting state oppression. Marking the legacy of these heroes has become an integral moment of solidarity for the entire nation. In the Tamil homeland, commemorations have already begun this week, in a defiant series of events that have continued to grow since the armed conflict ended. Sri Lanka’s response to these moves at remembering the lives lost, alongside its continued targeting of Tamils, reveals a failure to tackle the deep-rooted issues of Sinhala nationalism on the island - a stark contrast from the promise of reconciliation when it came into power almost two years ago.
A Tamil student in Nuwara Eliya was assaulted and had the word 'Tamil' carved onto his arm by his attackers. The 14-year-old schoolboy was intercepted by unknown men on his way home from school and beaten. The boy told police that he became unconscious and had the word 'TAMIL' cut onto his right forearm by the men. The student was admitted to Linthulai hospital and later transferred to Nuwara Eliya district hospital for further treatment.
Tamils in the Kilinochchi district gathered at the sites of cemeteries for fallen LTTE cadres to tidy the remains of the tomb stones, ahead of Maaveerar Naal, the Tamil remembrance day, on November 27.
Sri Lanka’s navy has installed permanent fences around 617 acres of Land in Mullaithivu. A notice was published in a local Tamil newspaper stating that the Navy was going to acquire land under Section 38a of the Land Acquisition Act.
Tamil businesses across London mark Maaveerar week by flying the Tamil national flag in their shopfronts.
The international community must do more to hold Sri Lanka to account for its ongoing human rights abuses, says Australian senator Lee Rhiannon. In a speech to the Australian parliament, Greens senator Lee Rhiannon recounted how Sri Lanka’s chief of national intelligence, himself accused of perpetrating torture, evaded questions from the UN’s Committee Against Torture. Quoting reports from Together Against Genocide, PEARL, Adayaalam, Journalists from Democracy in Sri Lanka and other organisations, the senator made the case for holding Sri Lanka more strongly to account, in particular calling...
The Canadian Tamil Parliamentary Friendship Group (CTPFG) held its inaugural meeting on Monday 22 November. The cross-party parliamentary group was established with the aim of building a strong relationship between Canada and the worldwide Tamil diaspora, whilst continuing to “focus on issues important to Tamil-Canadians, including advocacy on human rights, and accountability for violations against Tamils” Speaking at the inauguration, the Chair of the CTPFG, Liberal MP Mark Holland, said, “I am honoured to Chair the Canadian-Tamil Parliamentary Friendship Group and I look forward to working...
The Vavuniya Citizens Committee called this week for Tamils across the world to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, remembering the sacrifice of those who died for the Tamil struggle. "On November 27th as usual under aegis of the Citizens Committee of Vauviniya, exactly at 6.05 PM, the Vavuniya Church bell will toll three times and before a model tombstone a common lamp will be lit as a mark of respect to pay homage to the great souls who laid their lives," the committee said in a statement published earlier this week. "We call upon all the family members of the freedom fighters, their kith and kin,...
Students at Aarhus University in Denmark marked Maaveerar Naal (Tamil national remembrance day) on Friday.