Tamil protests across North-East demand international justice for disappearances

Tamil families of the Disappeared held protests across the North-East today to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. The families called for an internationally led investigation into enforced disappearances, emphasizing that successive governments have failed the Tamil people.

Tamil families of the Disappeared held protests across the North-East today to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. The families called for an internationally led investigation into enforced disappearances, emphasizing that successive governments have failed the Tamil people.

Vavuniya

In Vavuniya, families held placards and hosted a media briefing, urging the international community to step up and support the Tamil people in their search for their forcibly disappeared loved ones. They expressed their exhaustion from fighting alone and appealed for international pressure on the Sri Lankan government to take action.

Jaffna

In Jaffna, families of the disappeared, alongside members of civil society and politicians, took to the streets, denouncing the government-led Office of Missing Persons (OMP) as a sham and demanding that the Sri Lankan government deliver justice to those still searching for their loved ones. The rally began at Arya Kulam Junction and proceeded to Muniappar Kovildi via Barudhiturai Road.

At the rally, families demanded answers about the fate of their relatives who went missing after being handed over to Sri Lanka's security forces during the final phase of the armed conflict. They expressed their distrust in the Sri Lankan government and called for international intervention to support their 15-year-long search for truth and justice.

Jaffna University

Students from the University of Jaffna also staged protests in solidarity with Eelam Tamils across the North-East in marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

 Trincomalee

In Trincomalee, Families of the Disappeared who led the protests faced stiff resistance from Sri Lankan police after they obtained a court order restricting the flow of the protests.

Riot police were deployed and one activist was arrested. However, protestors circumvented the blockade put by police by gathering at the beach instead.