Tamil Genocide

Tamil Genocide, also known as the Sri Lankan Tamil Genocide, or Eelam Tamil Genocide are terms that encapsulate a series of devastating events suffered by the Sri Lankan Tamil also known as Eelam Tamil people leading to, during, and following the Sri Lankan Civil War. Acts of genocide against the Eelam Tamils started in 1948, as soon as Sri Lanka gained its independence, and were perpetrated through Sinhala-Buddhist centric government policies, pogroms, land grabs and ethnic cleansing. It spanned several decades with an intense phase from 1981 to 2009 and thereafter until to date with colonization, land grabbing and arrests are a manifestation of the on-going genocide against Tamil people .

The term "genocide" in this context is used to describe the systematic and widespread targeting of Tamil civilians, combatants, and political figures by the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan government forces, committing atrocities including mass killings, enforced disappearances, land grabbing, colonization and sexual violence. The conflict and its brutal end have sparked international debate and led to calls for accountability and justice.

History

Land Grabbing and Colonization

The State-sponsored colonization is the Sri Lankan government program of settling mostly Sinhalese farmers from the densely populated wet zone into the sparsely populated areas of the dry zone. This has taken place since the 1950s near tanks and reservoirs being built in major irrigation and hydro-power programs such as the Mahaweli project. The forced Sinhala colonization began in 1952 in Gal Oya Sinhala Buddhist nationalists within the Sri Lankan government, Buddhist clergy and Mahaweli department have deliberately targeted the Tamil majority northeast for state sponsored Sinhala colonisation, with the explicit intention to take the land into "Sinhala hands" away from the Tamils, and to disrupt the Tamil-speaking continuity between the north and east. This resulted in a significant demographic shift, with the resettled farmers contributing to an increase in the Sinhalese population in the northeast dry zone, thus promoting Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony in the area. Sinhalese settlers were provided with preferential access to land by the state in these regions, whilst the local Tamil speaking people were excluded from this privilege, making them minorities in their own lands.

Demographic Changes

Massacres and killings

Forced Disappearances

Premediated Pogroms

Gang rapes and sexual violence

Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka has occurred repeatedly during the island's long ethnic cleansing conflict. The first instances of rape of Tamil women by Sinhalese mobs were documented during the 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom. This continued in the 1960s with the deployment of the Sri Lankan Army in Jaffna, who were reported to have molested and occasionally raped Tamil women. Further rapes of Tamils were carried out by Sinhalese mobs during the 1977, 1981 and 1983 anti-Tamil pogroms.

Following the outbreak of war, rape was used by the almost entirely Sinhalese Sri Lankan armed forces, in an attempt to collectively punish the Tamil population, who were often seen as being supportive of the LTTE. Both Tamil females and males were targeted for rape, including children. Other groups which committed rape against Tamils included the Indian Peace Keeping Force and Sri Lankan Police.

Mullivaikkal massacre

Mullivaikkal massacre was the mass killing of tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils in 2009 during the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War ending in May 2009 in a tiny strip of land in Mullivaikkal, Mullaitivu. The Sri Lankan government designated a no fire zone in Mullivaikkal towards the end of the war. According to the UN, between 40,000–70,000 entrapped Tamil civilians were killed by the actions of Government Forces and LTTE, with the large majority of these civilian deaths being the result of indiscriminate shelling by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.

During the battle government forces heavily shelled the area, including hospitals, UN hub and near the Red Cross ship, while the LTTE held hostage much of the civilian population for cover, and enforced this by shooting escaping Tamil civilians. During the final days of the war, the army also engaged in indiscriminate executions of Tamils, civilians as well as fighters. Indiscriminate massacres of civilians were carried out on May 18, 2009.

Destruction of evidence of crimes

Resistance Movement

The build-up to the genocide can be understood through the lens of post-colonial strife and ethnic nationalism. The independence of Sri Lanka in 1948 marked the beginning of heightened ethnic tensions, as policies implemented by the Sinhalese-dominated government marginalized the Tamil population, leading to social, economic, and political disenfranchisement. This systemic discrimination sowed the seeds of unrest. There were civil disobedience which was followed by armed struggle against Sri Lanka state to form a independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam.

Civil Disobedience

Armed Struggle

The failure of the civil disobedience led to the formation of several armed Tamil resistance movements, the most prominent of which was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aiming to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of the island called Tamil Eelam. This war was known the Sri Lankan Civil War or Eelam War.

National and international media coverage

International Reactions

In 2022, The Parliament of Canada made May 18 as the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. On an official letter addressing the Tamils who have suffered through the genocide, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with other supportive statements, wrote

“In October 2022, we joined our international partners in adopting an United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution that calls on the Sri Lankan government to address the human rights, economic, and political crises in the country. Canada has been a global leader in the adoption of other UNHRC resolutions calling for freedom of religion, belief, and pluralism in Sri Lanka – essential elements to secure peace and reconciliation in the years to come – and we will continue our work to safeguard human rights across the world. And in January 2023, our government imposed sanctions against four Sri Lankan government officials in response to human rights violations on the island."

The letter was titled: Statement by the Prime Minister on the first Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. It was written on May 18, 2023, as the day Tamils across the world acknowledge as Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day. It is a remembrance day observed by Eelam Tamil people to remember those who died in the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Protests

UN Response

Aftermath

The aftermath of the conflict has been characterized by a contentious and painful process of reconciliation, with ongoing debates over accountability, human rights investigations, and efforts to heal a deeply divided nation. Nonetheless, the path towards reconciliation and justice remains fraught with challenges, as political, ethnic, and historical complexities continue to influence the discourse around the Tamil Genocide.

Sri Lanka's Denial of the Genocide

Sri Lanka has responded to the statements which have been made by several world leaders including primarily Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In certain Sri Lankan government websites such as the one for the high commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore the government has stated Sri Lanka rejects the reference to Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day by the Canadian Prime Minister and that it is a distorted narrative of the past conflict in Sri Lanka is aimed solely at achieving local vote-bank electoral gains, and is not conducive to broader goals of communal harmony.

Recognition of Genocide

The international community's response to the Tamil Genocide has been varied, with some countries and international bodies recognizing the events as constituting acts of genocide or war crimes, and calling for comprehensive investigations and accountability measures. However, the acknowledgment and classification of these events as "genocide" remain controversial and are subject to political and diplomatic considerations.

Countries such as Canada and the state of Tamil Nadu in India have been vocal in acknowledging the genocide of the Tamil people, advocating for international investigations into war crimes and human rights violations. The United Nations has also been involved, publishing reports and resolutions calling for accountability and justice for the victims of the conflict.

Recognition of Black July as a Genocide

The late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi declared the Black July massacre to be a genocide against the Tamil people on August 14, 1983. However, she was not prepared to intervene or exert pressure on Sri Lanka.

In December 1983, The Review, a publication of the International Commission of Jurists said:

"The evidence points clearly to the conclusion that the violence of the Sinhala rioters on the Tamils amounted to acts of genocide."

Tamil Genocide Education Week in Canada

In June 2020, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved a motion calling on the Ministry of Education to incorporate Genocide education as compulsory learning unanimously. In this genocide education, Tamil genocide was included as a complimentary component.

Protests arose by Sinhalese groups. They all failed. The TDSB was going forth with the Tamil genocide being taught in schools

Around the same time Vijay Thanigasalam, by Progressive Conservative MPP, tabled bill 104, which is an Ontario bill called Bill 104, Tamil Genocide Education Week Act. During Bill states:

"The seven-day period in each year ending on May 18 is proclaimed as Tamil Genocide Education Week. During that period, all Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about, and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history."

This Bill was not taken lightly by Sinhalese groups who staged even more protests. They yet again failed as the Ontario judge, Justice Jasmine Akbarali, upheld Bill 104 in battle ‘over who gets to write the history of the war'. The court examined evidence and heard arguments from all parties in order to better determine whether or not what occurred amounted to a genocide of Tamils. Justice Jasmine Akbarali stated "The dominant characteristic of the law is to educate the public about what the Ontario Legislature has concluded is a Tamil genocide.”

Tamil Genocide Memorial and its History

The Tamil Genocide Memorial commemorates the lives lost during the Sri Lankan Civil War, particularly in its final stages in the area of Mullivaikkal.

Sri Lanka

In Jaffna, the northern province of Sri Lanka, a statue was erected to honor the memory of the victims of the conflict, particularly the events that unfolded in Mullivaikkal in May 2009. This statue served not only as a memorial but also as a symbol of the Tamil community's resilience and mourning. However, the memorial faced significant opposition and was destroyed, reflecting ongoing tensions and the contentious nature of memorializing the conflict within Sri Lanka.

The destruction of the statue sparked protests and outcry both locally and internationally, highlighting the deep scars left by the conflict and the importance of memorialization in the healing process. Efforts were made to rebuild the statue, namely public sit in protests and hunger protests. This act of reconstruction not only restored the physical monument but also served as a reaffirmation of the community's commitment to remembering the past and seeking justice. The rebuilding of the statue in Jaffna stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Tamil people and their continued struggle for recognition and reconciliation.

Canada

A Tamil Genocide Memorial to be built in Chinguacousy Park, in Brampton, Canada by 2025, the design was finalised in February 2024, after 3 years of delay.

Canadian Mayor Patrick Brown promised to build a monument after the Mullivaikkal memorial in Sri Lanka was torn down in January 2021. In recognition of the importance of memorialization for the Tamil diaspora, a proposal was made to build a Tamil Genocide Memorial in Brampton, Canada. The proposal aimed to provide a space for reflection, remembrance, and education, acknowledging the community's loss and resilience.

The initiative to erect the memorial in Brampton was met with both support and criticism. Proponents argue that it serves as a necessary acknowledgment of the atrocities faced by the Tamil population and as an educational tool for future generations. Critics, however, raise concerns about the potential for such memorials to foster division or impact diplomatic relations. Patirck Brown stated "While there might be some people trying to 'whitewash' history in Sri Lanka and rewrite history — we can't stand for that."

India

The Mullivaikkal Memorial or Mullivaikkal Muttram is a memorial dedicated to the Mullivaikkal massacre, the killings of Tamil civilians during the final phase of the war between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan armed forces at Mullivaikkal in 2009. The Mullivaikal Memorial is in the Thanjavur District of the Tamil Nadu state in neighboring India. On 6 November 2013, the inauguration of the Mullivaikal Memorial took place. One of the Tamil political party's leader Pazha Nedumaran and the World Tamil Confederation Trust he heads are the founders.

Mauritius

In honor of the Tamil citizens and LTTE soldiers, the mayor of Beau Bassin Rose Hill, Louis Andre Toussaint, in Mauritius, has constructed a pillar. It was constructed in response to the Mauritius Tamil Temple Federation's (MTTF) requests. The memorial's epitaph says:

"THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED TO THOSE 146,679 TAMILS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES INNOCENTLY AND 40,000 REPORTED LOST IN DEFENCE OF THEIR BELOVED MOTHERLAND IN SRI LANKA"

On top, the memorial has the Eelam Tamil ethnic National Flag on which it is written "Tamil Eelam" in Tamil letters. This memorial is located cated within the Beau Bassin Rose Hill Municipal Council's grounds, a short distance from the mayor's office.

Acts of commemoration

May 18th Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day

Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamil people to remember those who died in the genocide during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It is held each year on 18 May, the date on which the civil war ended in 2009, and is named after Mullivaikkal, a village on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka which was the massacre scene of the final battle of the civil war.

Art

Pop Culture Influences

• Born Free (2010), song by M.I.A.
• One Hundred Thousand Flowers (2020), from the album Made in Jaffna song by Shan Vincent de Paul

Documentaries

• Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
• Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished
• Sri Lanka’s killing fields: here shoes still lie on the ground
• I Witnessed Genocide: Inside Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
• This Land Belongs to the Army
• No Fire Zone
• The Library Which Sparked a Civil War in Sri Lanka
• The Dark Corners of Sri Lanka
• Haunted By Her Yesterdays
• My Neighbor the Suspected War Criminal
• Sri Lanka The Cold, Hard Truth
• Legacy of Black July 1983
• Sri Lanka: Finding Father Francis (BBC documentry)
• A Sri Lankan woman's search for her missing husband
• Sri Lanka: War Crimes
• Scars of Sri Lanka
• Can Sri Lanka achieve reconciliation?
• Sri Lankan civil war: Damilvany's story
• Sri Lanka: silencing the civil war survivors
• Can justice be served years after Sri Lanka's civil war ended?
• Speak on our Behalf
• In Search of Life
• SRI LANKA CITIZEN ABDUCTIONS
• Sri Lanka's Ruthless Anti-Terrorism Campaign
• The Tamil's Being Forced To Flee Sri Lanka (2013)
• Tamils Are Being Abducted As They Return To Sri Lanka
• Evidence of ongoing torture of Sri Lankan Tamils
• White Van Stories: Sri Lanka's disappeared

Notes

References