Another Tamil father has died following a 12 year search for his forcibly disappeared son.
Sevamalai Rasathurai, from Mathiyamdu Puliyankulam had been searching for his son Rasathurai Viji who was forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan army at the end of the armed conflict.
On May 24, 2009, Sevamalai's son was arrested by the Sri Lankan army at Omanthai checkpoint, the location where hundreds of families surrendered their family members to the Sri Lankan state forces. Since that day, Sevamalai had been demanding to know the whereabouts of this son.
Sevamalai was an active participant in the Tamil families of disappeared protests in Vavuniya since the campaign began in 2017. These families have been protesting for over 1,668 days, demanding action on investigating the enforced disappearances and accountability for human rights violations committed by the state.
Tamil families of the disappeared and Tamil activists have been calling on the international community to investigate the disappearances as domestic mechanisms have repeatedly failed to deliver any accountability or prosecute those responsible for the disappearances.
Since the protests across the North-East began, over 80 parents have died without ever knowing what happened to their disappeared relatives or before those responsible were brought to justice.
