Twenty to forty thousand need not have perished in one sweep without identification įrom a cruel regime’s and its ally’s fire power, chemical weaponry and ammunition. To Canada, US, Britain, EU, Norway and the UN had you heeded with compassion Tamil civilian lives are in your hands the Diaspora pleaded in desperation The Cry of a Freedom Activist: To the International Community That the Maveerar were the bulwark, the pillars of our hard fought success When Freedom is won and Thamil Eelam is proclaimed They did not die, but have transcended deathĪnd have found a place in the people’s hearts, as the Greatest Heroes ever They have made the ultimate sacrifice ever Our Best tribute to them is not only to worship their memorialsīut keep the torch burning and incessantly carry their messageīy their selfless dedication, for justice for their people Of unmatched bravery and unparalleled courage That will carry us through the freedom struggleġ8,743 and counting of our finest Men and Women
They give us strength and it’s our strength They fell, so that we could rise all at once Try as they did the enemy could not break themĪcclaimed as Martyrs they were known, for their unshakable will They had sworn an oath and lived by that oath Never faltering, that’s why never spurned peace will prevail."īut Sarika Navanathan says people shouldn't ignore what the Rajapaksa regime did and what the war meant for Tamils in Sri Lanka.Possessed of both integrity and disciplineĪ superior class of Freedom Fighters, they are a rare find If there is no kind of terrorist groups who want to divide the country. "The Rajapaksa regime wiped out terrorism. "This conflict was created not because of discrimination," he said.
The Sri Lankan high commissioner in Ottawa, Asoka Girihagama, says Gotabaya Rajapaksa's election should not spark any fear in the Tamil diaspora "We hope that that level of scrutiny, along with the moral persuasion imposed or exerted by the Tamil diaspora, will ensure that even if things don't get better for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, it doesn't get any worse." Sri Lankan high commissioner responds He says the international eye on the Sri Lankan government will play a role in ensuring things move toward reconciliation and equality. "With this majority and with the support of the majority community, should make best efforts to craft a solution which is acceptable to the Tamil community." She says Gotabaya Rajapaksa's election is a 'terrifying spectre' for the community. Tasha Manoranjan, executive director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, says Maveerar Naal is an extremely significant day for Tamils. "That's kind of blurring the distinction in terms of commemoration on November 27." "Particularly towards the final stages of the conflict in 2009, from January to May in 2009, there wasn't really any distinguishing between LTTE combatants and civilians because the entire Tamil community was under attack by the Sri Lankan government," she said. Tasha Manoranjan, executive director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), says the day of remembrance was initially meant to honour soldiers fighting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE), but because they became targets towards the end of the war, the tradition now includes honouring civilians as well. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC)Īs the conflict reached its climax in May 2009, members of the Tamil community in Toronto blocked the Gardiner Expressway to raise awareness of the escalating conflict and draw attention to civilians who had been killed or forced to flee. Sarika Navanathan says she was shocked but not surprised by the country's recent election results. But on the outset, it definitely doesn't look good for the community," Navanathan said. You would think things may have changed and we might have a better future.
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"It's unfortunate to kind of see the regime come back full circle 10 years later. Rajapaksa's brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president at the height of the war, is now prime minister. " brings back a lot of trauma and fear, I think, in the Tamil community," said Sarika Navanathan, president of the Tamil Student Association at the University of Toronto's St. He was revered by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority for his role in ending the bloody civil war in 2009, but Tamils fear him for what they call a "genocide" by the government as it tried to crush their campaign for an independent state. On the 10th Tamil Remembrance Day since the war ended, Tamils can't help but focus on the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's former defence minister, who won the presidency just 10 days ago. Toronto's Sri Lankan Tamil community is pausing Wednesday to remember a civil war that killed tens of thousands of their people - but even though the conflict ended a decade ago, many are worried the recent elections in Sri Lanka will spark more ethnic strife.
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