Tuesday, 16 May 2023

 Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (14:20): On 18 May each year since 2009 the Tamil community marks Muḷḷivāykkāl Niṉaivu Nāḷ, or Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, a day to remember the thousands of Tamils killed in the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war. British colonisation left Sri Lanka a divided society. Like they had done in many other places, the colonisers pitted communities against each other, and Sri Lanka struggled in the aftermath. Our Tamil community paid the price for a government agenda of nationalism, and our language, culture and prosperity came under sustained attack, but our community resisted. Over 30 years of brutal conflict we lost so much. Our community was splintered into hundreds of thousands of pieces across the world, and thousands remained and fought to survive.

In the final stages of the war 300,000 civilian Tamils were trapped in Mullivaikkal in the north of Sri Lanka. Mullivaikkal was designated a no-fire zone. The Sri Lankan government encouraged Tamils to harbour there. Makeshift hospitals were set up there to treat the wounded. But instead of safety they were met with bombs. Between January and May 2009 an estimated 70,000 Tamils were killed, adding to the 40,000 that had been killed in the conflict to that point. To date another 100,000 Tamils have not been accounted for, feared dead. We remember them.

Even as I stand here and mark these tragic events, the Sri Lankan state continues to intimidate those who seek to commemorate their loved ones. Every Tamil carries a piece of this history of attempted genocide within them. No healing will come until this is acknowledged.