The Oxford Union is no stranger to controversy. Over the decades, the prestigious student debating society has hosted a range of deeply divisive figures, from far-right agitators such as Tommy Robinson and Nick Griffin, to Holocaust deniers such as David Irving. It has justified these invitations under the banner of free speech and intellectual challenge, insisting that debate must remain open, however uncomfortable the speaker may be. The decision to invite Namal Rajapaksa to address the Union next week, however, is particularly disappointing – platforming a defender of mass atrocities and putting the welfare of its own students at risk.

The killing of a 17-year-old in Jaffna, the attempted cover-up that followed, and the complete absence of accountability, are part of a grim and familiar cycle. For decades, such violence has made clear that the Sri Lankan state does not value Tamil lives, no matter which government sits in Colombo.

Last month's UN report adds yet more weight to a body of evidence that is now overwhelming. The time has come for the international community to call these crimes by their proper name: genocide.

When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that the global order is in a state of “rupture” last month, he gave voice to what many across the world have already felt for some time. The old certainties of the West are collapsing and longstanding alliances are being recalibrated. The world is changing. Where does that leave Eelam Tamils and the ongoing struggle for liberation? 

The unavoidable conclusion is that the government has chosen not to act when it comes to Tamil rights. The NPP has lied, and it continues to lie, to the Tamil people.

It has been a deeply painful week. As tens of thousands of Eelam Tamils gathered to mark Maaveerar Naal, or Great Heroes’ Day, Cyclone Ditwah tore across the island. It was a tragedy that could have, and should have, been mitigated. 

For years in the Tamil homeland, Maaveerar Naal commemorations were forced underground. Lamps were lit behind closed doors, portraits of the fallen hidden from the state and gatherings broken apart by armed soldiers. Not today.

The events unfolding in Trincomalee over the past week have laid bare an uncomfortable truth that many in the Tamil homeland have long understood, but some around the world chose to hope against. The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government is not the rupture from Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism it promised to be.

This week across the Tamil homeland preparations have begun as the nation readies itself to mark Maaveerar Naal – Great Heroes Day. For Eelam Tamils this is more than just a day of remembrance. It is a moment that brings together a nation that has suffered war, destruction, and occupation, yet continues to endure. For decades, the Sri Lankan state has tried to stifle it. Sixteen years since the death of the last Tamil liberation fighter, such repression must end. 

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Defence made an audacious claim last week, stating over 700 acres of land in the North and East have been “returned to the public”. It only takes a cursory glance to see the painfully clear reality in the North-East. The occupation continues.