All photographs by Uthayarasa Shalin

Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal commemoration ground this morning to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. 

This year marks 17 years since Sri Lanka's genocidal offensive that left an estimated 169,796 Tamils unaccounted for and presumed dead. 

To mark 17 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’. 

A commemorative event marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the 50th anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution was held in Switzerland on 10 May under the theme “Unyielding Courage and Defiant Resurgence.”

The event, organised by the Swiss Tamil Coordinating Committee, took place in the canton of Bern and drew large numbers of Tamils from across Switzerland.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Vaddukoddai Resolution,  a landmark declaration calling for the political independence of the Tamil nation.

The Vaddukoddai Resolution, spearheaded by SJV Chelvanayakam, was adopted by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) on May 14, 1976. It remains a cornerstone of the Tamil for self-determination in Sri Lanka, concluding that an independent state of Tamil Eelam was needed to safeguard the very existence of the Tamil nation in Sri Lanka. 

On May 10, 2009, Catholic Priest Father Francis Joseph wrote to the Pope from inside the No Fire Zone, calling on the Church to break its silence on the massacre of Tamils.

We publish his letter in full below.

Father Joseph disappeared after surrendering to the Sri Lankan Army alongside hundred of LTTE cadres and high ranking LTTE officials in May 2009.

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To His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI,

The political landscape of Tamil Nadu is undergoing a dramatic shift as results from the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections point to a breakthrough performance by actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).