August 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, was marked by the Tamil diaspora and in Sri Lanka by the women-led families of the disappeared. Since 2017 this movement for justice for the disappeared has been protesting and demanding answers. Below is my speech on this issue to an event organised by the … Continue reading Tamils call for action on enforced disappearances
11th anniversary of massacre of Tamils – some of the worst crimes ever committed
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day ceremony was held on line. The occasion was very moving. This is my speech to mark the occasion. -------------- Today, May 18, is a most significant date for Tamils in Sri Lanka and the diaspora Tamil community scattered around the world. Today is the 11th … Continue reading 11th anniversary of massacre of Tamils – some of the worst crimes ever committed
Don’t forget the Tamil genocide
Review of Losing Santhia: Life and Loss in the Struggle for Tamil Eelam, by Ben Hillier (Interventions, 2019). This article first appeared in Jacobin on 20 October 2019. ———————- The annihilation of an ethnic or national group is inevitably accompanied by rape, sexual humiliation, disappearances, mass murder, and torture. Victims’ suffering is acute, and survivors’ … Continue reading Don’t forget the Tamil genocide
Ten years on from Tamil genocide: still standing, still fighting
At the 2019 Marxism Conference held in Melbourne I joined a panel on “Ten years on from Tamil genocide: still standing, still fighting”. Below is my speech. I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay tribute to their history, their culture and their ongoing struggle for justice for all … Continue reading Ten years on from Tamil genocide: still standing, still fighting
Lee Rhiannon 