Today (May 18) Sri Lankan Tamils commemorate the massacre of tens of thousands of our people by the Sri Lankan army in 2009. #Mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide @MarioArul @nimmideviarchy @Sujith_Xavier @ficader @dlocokid @tdmanoranjan @jdakwar @sarahlmehta 1/
If this is unfamiliar to you, please consider taking a few mins to learn about it. Human rights group @PEARLaction did this superb history for the 10th anniversary last year: pearlaction.org/inthefaceofgen… #Mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide 2/
Many brave people extensively documented the war crimes of 2009, often at great personal risk. In 2011 a UN Panel of Experts, constituted by the Sec'y General, found credible evidence of war crimes. news.un.org/en/story/2011/… #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide 3/
This led to some UN resolutions, incl. UN HRC 30/1, still in theory operative (though the Govt of SL has made a mockery of it). documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/…
But no war crimes prosecutions anywhere, inside or outside Sri Lanka. #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide 4/
A number of MP’s in different countries with large Tamil diaspora populations made commemoration statements on the 10th anniversary last year, including this one: theresavilliers.co.uk/news/statement…. #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilsGenocide 5/
There's a monument to those who died on the Jaffna University campus. The Govt tried to remove it but there were protests and ultimately left it. Now it’s in a cordoned-off area, as a compromise. #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilsGenocide 6/
The only other monument I know of is in South India. This is telling: the only Govt willing to permanently mourn the mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils is in India. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullivaik… #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide 7/
Dr. King said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” I believe that - couldn’t live any other way. But each year that no one is brought to justice for the 2009 atrocities makes it harder. #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide 8/
Even now, the SL Govt is using #COVID19 as pretext to quarantine those trying to mourn in SL. For details, see @rkguruparan , who has tweeted re proceedings in latest litigation there. Our struggle for dignity continues. #mullivaikkal #May18Rememberance #May18TamilGenocide /end
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.