A short history lesson.

In 1986, Tamils were killed by far right racists in London.

A firebomb was pushed through the letterbox of number 84, Burges Road in East Ham. There were nine Eelam Tamil refuges inside at the time.

Three of them were killed.

/1 At the time, Newham was suffering from a wave of racist far right violence, targeting Black and Brown communities.

It was the sixth firebomb attack in the last six months. The Tamils were just the latest target.

Locals were outraged and demanded action.

/2

🧵The British government is talking of using disused ferries to hold asylum seekers.

But this was already tried by the UK once before – a cruel experiment that failed spectacularly.

This is the story of the Earl William, hunger striking Tamils and the great storm of 1987.⬇️

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https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1640946758506147841

In January 1987, then Home Secretary Douglas Hurd approved the use of a former car ferry to detain asylum seekers.

The Earl William was chosen as it was “unlikely to appear too luxurious or too Spartan” he claimed.

It was moored at Harwich in Essex.

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35 years ago, this 23-year-old from Jaffna decided to take a stand. It was bold.

In September 1987, in front of 100,000 people, Thileepan launched a peaceful, determined, and powerful protest.

He vowed he would have no food. And not a drop of water. As a former medical student, Thileepan already knew what his body would endure.

He had already left university to join the struggle.

And at 23-years-old, he was prepared to give his life, in a non-violent act of protest, for his peoples’ freedom.

Everyone who has visited Jaffna has probably walked past this mound of concrete.

Opposite Nallur Temple, just in front of Rio’s Ice Cream parlour, stands the now destroyed memorial to Lt. Col. Thileepan.

🧵A thread on rebuilding and resisting.

#tamil #eelam #srilanka

/1 35 years ago, 100,000 people flooded the streets as he launched a hunger strike for Tamil rights.

He was a medical student before becoming political leader with the LTTE. And he was just 23 years old.

His hunger strike lasted for 11 days. He died on September 26th 1987.

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What this article misses is how many of these very same cricketers were backers of the Rajapaksa regime – some overtly.

Many were criticised by Sri Lankans for their silence or support for the regime and only recently made complete U-turns.

I’ll give a few examples.

🧵

https://twitter.com/afidelf/status/1534118513618526208

Sanath Jayasuriya was an SLFP MP, who campaigned fervently for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, claiming he is “the only leader who can create a better tomorrow”.

In the wake of Rajapaksa’s victory, Jayasuriya tweeted “be assured of my commitment to strengthening your hands all the way”.

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🧵 As Sri Lankans continue to protest at Galle Face, a look back at what happened when Tamils tried to do the same in 1956.

Tamil politicians protested peacefully outside Sri Lankan parliament in Colombo, condemning efforts to pass the Sinhala Only Act on June 5, 1956.

/1 Hundreds led by SJV Chelvanayakam, staged a satyagraha on Galle Face Green.

They were set upon by a Sinhala mob.

“Hooligans, in the very precincts of Parliament House, under the very nose of the PM of this country, set upon those innocent men seated there," wrote S Nadesan.

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On Sunday night, Sri Lankan minister Lohan Ratwatte got drunk and flew in a helicopter to Anuradhapura Prison.

He entered the cells of Tamil prisoners, pulled out his pistol and forced them to kneel down at gunpoint.

He threatened to kill them on the spot.

/1 The day before, Ratwatte and his entourage, including a former Sri Lankan ‘beauty queen’, got drunk and walked into Welikada Prison in Colombo, demanding to view the prison’s gallows and threatening prison officers.

Sri Lanka’s Prisons Department claimed they knew nothing.

/2

Last month, this photo of former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga casually strolling through London were shared widely.

Today - the anniversary of the Navaly Church bombing - is a reminder of how, for many, she remains one of Sri Lanka’s most notorious war criminals.🧵

https://twitter.com/ItsYakin/status/1408378692708057089

26 years ago, Kumaratunga launched Operation Leap Forward - a massive assault on the Jaffna Peninsula.

The air force dropped leaflets instructing Tamils to seek shelter at churches and temples.

Hours later bombs were dropped on St Peter's church. More than 140 were killed.

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Why does #funnyboy have new anti-Tamil scenes and dialogue that doesn’t even appear in the original book?

#FunnyBoyTheFilm #FunnyBoyFilm @IamDeepaMehta @FunnyBoyTheFilm @ARRAYNow @ava @cbcgem Why does #funnyboy have a made up massacre of Sinhalese in Colombo by Tamils in 1983?

It never happened. In the book or in reality.

Why is Canada’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka acting in this scene of the made up massacre? @McKinnonDavid @CanHCSriLanka

A reminder.

Sirisena has long paid patronage to the BBS. His catering to Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, and this extremist hate group in particular, is not new.

Nov 2018. Sirisena meets BBS monks who waved these racist flags. /1

tamilguardian.com/content/sri-la… March 2018. Gnanasara is one of several Sinhala Buddhist monks, who accompanied Sirisena to Japan. /2

tamilguardian.com/content/sri-la…