Marking the 14th Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, PEARL notes that Sri Lanka will not implement a 'sustainable political solution' to 'prevent future violence and violations' and calls on the international states to address Tamils' longstanding grievances. "During the final months of the war in 2009, also known as the Mullivaikkal Genocide, Sri Lanka committed unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and rape and other sexual violence of Tamils and also denied them humanitarian assistance, including food. Some of these violations constitute war...
Hundreds of Tamils have gathered in Mullivaikkal yard today to remember the massacre that took place 14 years ago.
Flowers were scattered at Nandikadal lagoon this morning under the chairmanship of former Northern Provincial Councillor Thurairasa Ravikaran to mark Tamil Genocide Day. "Nandikadal, which has been a silent witness to the atrocities subjected to the Tamil people, contains the tears and blood of our relatives," Ravikaran said to the media. Ravikaran alongside other Tamil activists lit a flame at the lagoon which tens of thousands of Tamils waded through to cross over into Sri Lankan miliatry territory in May 2009. Prayers were also held at Varipala Kannagi Amman temple to pay respects to the...
Human Rights Watch (HRW) told the Sri Lankan government to "stop stalling and fulfill its obligation to investigate and prosecute the grave violations for which many people still suffer" in a statement marking 14 years since the Tamil genocide. "Fourteen years later, the Sri Lankan government remains in denial about the atrocities committed by its forces. The Mothers of the Disappeared, a group that has persistently sought to learn the fate of their loved ones, face harassment from security agencies, while the government provides neither information nor justice," the rights group wrote. In...
In a show of unity and solidarity, British Members of Parliament (MPs) from different political parties gathered at the Palace of Westminster today to mark Mullivaikkal Tamil Remembrance Day and honour the victims of the genocide committed against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The event was organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) and featured the signing of a Book of Remembrance, a video presentation, and an exhibition. Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey MPs from the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Scottish National Party, as well as independent...
Marking the 14th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, the UK's Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has urged the British government to act upon the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and refer Sri Lankan war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC). "We urge the British government to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tamils and consider the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to refer perpetrators of these crimes to the International Criminal Court" Lammy stated. He further added that Mullivaikkal "serves as a reminder that...
Preparations were completed at Mullivaikkal memorial yard today ahead of Tamil Genocide Day which falls on May 18. Aruthpani Leo Adikalalar, one of the co-chairs of the North-East Mullivaikal Memorial Foundation, said that all the preparations for the Tamil Genocide commemoration at Mullivaikal yard have been completed and everyone is invited to gather there tomorrow. This year marks 14 years since the end of the armed conflict which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils who were trapped in the so-called No Fire Zones. The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final...
A Tamil man was arrested and released on police bail yesterday for having a banner which read "Tamil Genocide Memorial Day". Pathmanathan Sirojan, a staff member of the AHAM Humanitarian Resource Centre was reportedly arrested by the Ayithamalai police during an commemoration event in Naripulthottam, Batticaloa. Commemorative events have been taking place across the North-East in the lead up to May 18, also known as 'Tamil Genocide Day', to remember the tens of thousands of Tamils that were massacred in a military offensive by Sri Lanka. This is the latest attempt by the Sri Lankan...
Nelson Venkatesan’s previous outing was a well-made family entertainer called ‘Monster,’ starring a typically cartoonish SJ Suryah as a man haunted by a mouse. The film is innocent fun, which are two words I would not use to describe his most recent work ‘Farhana.’ Venkatesan completely shifts gears, to deliver a solidly thought-out thriller. It impressively weaves through themes of masks, desires and self-control.
Venkat Prabhu’s latest cinematic offering arrives not too soon after his best work with 2021’s ‘Maanaadu’ and last year’s middlingly received ‘Manmadha Leelai.’ ‘Custody’ is a bilingual venture, featuring names from both the Tamil and Telugu film industry, including lead Naga Chaitanya. Despite a cult following for his films, Prabhu’s filmography has been spotty at best - ‘Mankatha’ seemed like a fluke until ‘Maanaadu.’ With ‘Custody,’ Prabhu has slipped back into cruise control.