Share this page!

PEARL Action Profile picture
Twitter logo
7 Dec, 7 tweets, 6 min read
This month, we are celebrating PEARL’s 15th anniversary: 15 years of fearless #Tamil-led advocacy, legal work, and research to advance justice and self-determination for the Tamil people in the North-East of Sri Lanka. In 2021, our fight continues. #PEARL15 #JusticeForGenocide
In 2005, @tdmanoranjan founded PEARL following humanitarian trips to Sri Lanka. In 2004, Tasha and other Tamil American volunteers hoped to raise funds to rebuild the schools in which they had been teaching English...
Later that year the #BoxingDayTsunami led to an influx of financial support from intl. donors that was then misdirected by the #GoSL to Sinhalese areas instead of affected Tamil areas. This clearly exposed the root problem of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism.
Since then we have not wavered from our mission:

2007: Successfully stopped US military aid to #SriLanka
2011: Supported a lawsuit against Shavendra Silva
2016: Released a report exposing the extent of #militarization in Mullaitivu
2020: Launched a transnational study group
PEARL’s work has significantly shifted the narrative around #SriLanka’s human rights record across foreign policy circles and furthered the pursuit of justice for #Tamil victim-survivors.
The #Tamil struggle is longstanding and resilient. In 2021, we plan to: expand our advocacy with the #EU, support strategic litigation efforts, publish research that centers the experiences of #Tamil victim-survivors, and continue to nurture community among the #Tamil diaspora.
Over the next 2 weeks, we will reveal key achievements of our 15-year existence. In order to grow our work, we need your support. Please donate to PEARL to further our commitment of justice and self-determination for the #Tamil people in the North-East.

pearlaction.org/get-involved/s…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with PEARL Action

PEARL Action Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @PEARL_Action

PEARL Action Profile picture
27 Jul
THREAD: The international response to the anti-Tamil pogroms of 1983, specifically the Tamil diaspora mobilization during this time, is often left out of our narratives. This resistance should be remembered and commemorated. #Tamil #lka #BlackJuly
The 1983 genocide of the Tamil community was a wake-up call to the rest of the world. The Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism demonstrated by the Sri Lankan state was finally starting to be seen and condemned by the rest of the world. #BlackJuly
Tamil Nadu demonstrated the most consistent and continuous protests since July 25. MPs, Madras students, school children and women, and even police officers, joined the marches wearing black bands in solidarity and mourning with Tamils in SL. #BlackJuly
Read 13 tweets
PEARL Action Profile picture
24 Jul
THREAD: The following details the acts of violence inflicted on the Tamil People throughout the #BlackJuly Genocide. Readers are encouraged to practice caution while reading and reflecting.
Note: While we’re unable to provide full accounts of the violence by piecing together different incidents we hope to provide a better understanding of how the events unfolded.
The period of July 24-July 29, 1983, known as “Black July” in Sri Lanka, is considered to have galvanized the Tamil People behind the armed movements fighting for a separate state against the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
Read 28 tweets
PEARL Action Profile picture
22 Jul
THREAD: On the eve of #BlackJuly, we are redrawing attention to the months preceding the violence.

An often repeated myth is that the 1983 Black July pogroms were a response to the killing of 13 soldiers by the LTTE on July 23, 1983. This is false. #Tamil #lka
Violence from state actors had been increasing in the months ahead of #BlackJuly. Tamils were being killed at will. Human rights activists, political activists and militants were being detained and tortured. Local newspapers, including the Saturday Review, documented the violence
In April, SA David and Dr. Rajasundaram of the Gandhiyam Movement were arrested and held. They were severely tortured throughout. The Gandhiyam Movement was a non-violent movement, which assisted refugees, by setting up farms and distributing food.
Read 22 tweets
PEARL Action Profile picture
4 Jun
STATEMENT: PEARL strongly condemns this week’s establishment of two presidential task forces in #SriLanka, which sets the country on a firm course to autocratic governance. Both new task forces appear to be exclusively Sinhala and include suspected war criminals. (1/7) Image
“Rajapaksa’s new presidential task forces will exacerbate the existing militarization and state-sponsored colonization of the Tamil-dominated North-East, breeding further tension and instability in the region,” said PEARL’s Executive Director @tdmanoranjan. (2/7)
The goals of the “PTF to build a Secure Country, Disciplined, Virtuous and Lawful Society” are written ambiguously - to “curb illegal activities of social groups” and “take legal action against persons responsible for...anti-social activities”. (3/7)

tinyurl.com/yax8tadq
Read 7 tweets
PEARL Action Profile picture
23 May
The establishment of a military task force to “protect archaeological sites” in the eastern province is a formalization of what has been occurring for decades, in what Tamils call the traditional Tamil homeland, in the North-East of the island tamilguardian.com/content/sri-la…
The Tamil homeland’s northern and eastern regions are linked through a narrow strip of land on the Mullaithivu-Trincomalee border. While the North was largely inhabitated by Tamils, the East was mainly Tamil and Muslim, until Sinhala colonization started in earnest.
Much of the colonization has been targeted at border regions between the North and East and most of the districts bordering Sinhala districts, including Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaithivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai, particularly through the Mahaweli Development Authority
Read 15 tweets
PEARL Action Profile picture
22 May
Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the 1958 Anti-Tamil Pogroms. Lasting from May 22nd-27th, Sinhalese mobs murdered an estimated 300 Tamils, injured another 1000, and raped at least 200 Tamil women.

Read ‘Emergency ‘58’ by Tarzie Vitachi: tinyurl.com/emergency-58 ImageImage
The pogroms were sparked by the then-govt’s proposition to settle Tamil laborers in Sinhalese districts. Sinhalese mobs attacked Tamil politicians of the Federal Party travelling by train to Vavvuniya and committed widespread violence across farms in the North-Central province.
An estimated 70 people were killed the night of May 25th alone. The next day, instead of trying to ensure the cessation of violence, PM Banadaranaike spread false rumors about Tamils perpetrating crimes in order to incite Sinhalese people to commit further violence.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @PEARL_Action has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @PEARL_Action!

Read all threads by @PEARL_Action