A three-day “Tamil Economic Future Summit'' was held in Davos, Switzerland last month with Tamils from around the world attending to discuss advancing the interests and causes of the global Tamil community.

The summit, organised by RISE and hosted by the Swiss Tamil Community, saw Eelam Tamil politicians such as Shritharan Sivagnanam, leader of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), alongside other Tamil leaders from the island including Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman, President of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), participating with Tamil entrepreneurs, CEO’s, intellectuals, high state position holders and researchers.

The summit started on the 7th of June and was the 13th such meeting to take place, held under the theme “Uniting Global Tamils to shape a more equitable, progressive, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable world”.

The focus of this summit was on discussing various topics and their opportunities and obstacles. Key topics were strengthening Tamil global civil society, economic and business development, cultural and heritage projects, networking, collaboration, and exploration of public-private-philanthropic partnerships for Tamil Economic development in North-East of Sri Lanka and the 44-year history of Eelam Tamils in Switzerland.

In a panel discussion about development in North-East-Central for Sri Lanka, MP Shritharan pointed out the discrimination, that the development of the North-East is facing, as well as the difficulties and the inefficiency of the actual development done by the state and non-state actors.

“The economic strength of the Eelam Tamil diaspora will reach high levels and manifest in societal development globally. Economic integration of the Tamil homeland and Tamil diaspora must be architected,” said Pirakash Vivekananthan, a Swiss Tamil and President of Tamil Economic Forum. He and Uthayan Pathmananthan co-presented 2 of the 8 mandates that were announced at this summit. These two mandates are directly related to Tamil Eelam.

Over 500 Tamils from 21 countries (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, UAE, United Kingdom, USA) took part.

“I will make my people ungovernable!” Rajavarothiam Sampanthan exclaimed, banging on the table. He was at a private meeting with diplomats of a powerful Western state in 2016, his expression giving away his frustration over the failure of the ruling Sri Lankan government, then led by Maithripala Sirisena, to make progress on the Tamil national question. R Sampanthan was one of Sri Lanka’s longest-serving members of parliament and the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main political coalition representing the Tamils of the country’s North and East. He had promised Tamils ahead of the 2015 election that there would be a political settlement to meet their long-standing demands for autonomy by 2016 – and when that did not materialise in time he promised it by 2017. A few months prior to the meeting with the diplomats, Mavai Senathirajah, the leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi – Sampanthan’s political home, also known as the Federal Party – had told Eelam Tamil activists and politicians from across the world gathered in the United States that the TNA would embark on a campaign of civil disobedience if the Sirisena-led government failed to come to an agreement with Tamil nationalist representatives in parliament. He was evoking the Federal Party’s legendary 1961 satyagraha against the implementation of the Sinhala Only Act, a landmark in the disenfranchisement of Sri Lanka’s Tamils as it prescribed Sinhala as the country’s only official language. On that occasion, a campaign of civil disobedience had managed to bring the civil administration of the North and East to a standstill. 

Spoiler alert: Sirisena did not make progress on the Tamil issue. Sampanthan did not make his people ungovernable. And the TNA did not embark on a civil disobedience campaign.

Since his death in June, glowing tributes for Sampanthan have poured in from politicians and diplomats in Colombo, highlighting his pragmatism and his undeniable service. India’s prime minister and foreign minister praised his advocacy in pursuit of justice and dignity for Tamils. Some, including senior TNA figures such as M A Sumanthiran, pointed out his commitment to a “united, undivided, indivisible” Sri Lanka, pre-empting any questioning of his past affiliation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Seeing the volume and tone of such condolence messages, particularly from non-Tamils, one could reasonably expect a similar, if not more emotional, response to his death from Tamils themselves. After all, if Sampanthan was the leader the Tamil people needed – as he clearly was in the eyes of the country’s Sinhala-dominated South and much of the diplomatic community – wouldn’t his death warrant an outpouring of grief among his people?

Yet there has been none. The “pragmatism” that the Sri Lankan state and foreign diplomats so adored served to strip Sampanthan of the standing he had had in the Tamil community before the end of Sri Lanka’s 26-year war in May 2009. The responses to his death from within the Tamil nationalist polity, of which he claimed leadership, have been rather muted, with only some perfunctory condolences, RIPs and Om Shanthis. Tamil WhatsApp groups usually abuzz with emotional commentary have stayed largely silent beyond sharing the bare news of his death. Only a handful of public commemoration events have been held in the days since his passing, virtually all of them organised by his party or those close to it. 

Those from the North and East who commemorated him did, however, highlight his past links to the LTTE. The TNA leader Shritharan Sivagnanam, for example, said Sampanthan was a leader endorsed by Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE, and that the struggle for the Tamil nation will continue in his absence. Shritharan’s statement gave some indication of why Sampanthan and his party continued to gather votes and appeared to be well supported by the Tamil community – a reason that his supporters in the South often ignore. His history with the LTTE – he endorsed the organisation as the sole representative of the Tamil people and led a union of Tamil parties supporting the LTTE’s efforts – meant there was a significant section of the Tamil population that felt not voting for the TNA after 2009 would be a betrayal of the Tamil struggle. The TNA, including Sampanthan, knew this and leant into pro-LTTE and pro-nationalist rhetoric through its local cadres. In effect, Sampanthan and Sumanthiran portrayed a “moderate” face in the South and to the international community even as the bulk of the TNA’s leaders and foot soldiers continue to follow a more radical Tamil nationalist ideology in line with the history of the Federal Party and the LTTE.

Sampanthan failed the Tamil nation at the moments it needed a courageous, elder statesman-like figure the most. During the ceasefire in the war from 2002 to 2008, at the height of the LTTE’s power, he was happy to benefit from proximity to the LTTE  – but he distanced himself from the organisation as soon as it became clear that the war would be lost. During the final phase of the war, he was literally absent, ensconced at his other home in India, ignoring phone calls from fellow parliamentarians such as Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. Much of the frantic negotiation with the Sri Lankan government in the last days of the fighting – including for the surrender of senior LTTE members, which ended in their extrajudicial killings – was left to other TNA leaders such as Ponnambalam and Ariyanayagam Chandranehru. 

One would have expected Sampanthan, as the only significant Tamil leader left after May 2009 and the end of the LTTE, to have grasped the moment with both hands. After the bloodbath that ended the war, there was widespread international support for Tamil demands for justice and accountability, and the TNA could have played a leading role in advancing the Tamil struggle. More importantly, a battered Tamil nation had just emerged from its biggest calamity, and its people were looking for a leadership that would help them process the genocidal brutality they had endured at the hands of the Sri Lankan state. 

Instead, Sampanthan chose the more comfortable, but ultimately fruitless, task of meekly seeking concessions from the same Sinhala political elite that was responsible for the violence. Perhaps the high point of this Colombo-centred strategy was the TNA’s decision to unequivocally support the Sirisena-led “unity government” of 2015 – a coalition that included numerous minority-led parties and notably excluded the Rajapaksas, who bore ultimate responsibility for the worst of the war-time abuses. That year, in a fit of enthusiasm for the newly formed government, Sampanthan became the first Tamil leader since the introduction of the 1972 republican constitution to attend celebrations for Sri Lanka’s Independence Day, still considered a black day by the Tamil people. Sampanthan defended his attendance at the event and his acceptance of the “lion flag” – the national flag of Sri Lanka, rejected by many Tamils as a symbol of Sinhala supremacism – as “palaiya kathai”, an old and resolved matter. The TNA even dithered on the question of federalism, a key part of Tamil demands for autonomy in the North and East, with Sumanthiran saying in 2018, “I won’t say it is needed, we can expand the existing provincial council system, our people are ready to accept that as a solution.”

The TNA’s symbolic capitulations in this period were both remarkable and predictably futile. Anyone possessing even a glancing familiarity with Sri Lanka’s political history would have been able to predict what happened next. In 2015, Sirisena appointed the current president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as his prime minister. The fragile Sirisena-Wickremesinghe alliance made no meaningful progress on resolving, let alone addressing, Tamil demands. Three years later, it became apparent that the TNA’s support for Wickremesinghe’s United National Party, which held the majority of ministerial posts in the “unity government”, merely delayed the inevitable. In October that year, Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe as prime minister and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, leading to a constitutional crisis. In 2019, Mahinda’s brother Gotabaya, who headed the armed forces during the war, came to power as president, and continued the Rajapaksas’ brand of unvarnished Sinhalese-Buddhist chauvinism. The TNA’s strategy lay in tatters and its reputation was considerably weakened. 

Sampanthan’s eagerness to capitulate in the vain hope of concessions from Sinhala political leaders cannot be put down to just naivete or optimism; he had been in Sri Lankan politics for too long to be that simple. Instead, we are left to evaluate his politics in light of its primary consequence: maintaining a position of relevance for himself and his fellow travellers in the political circles of Colombo. It is no surprise that the most gushing tributes for Sampanthan have come from the capital; this was, after all, his political home, and he was an insider there. 

He maintained this insider position through most of his career, and this meant that he shunned the active agents of Tamil nationalist politics, with only a brief exception during the Norwegian-led peace process when he led the coalition supportive of the LTTE. In the post-2009 era, the central and most effective actor in Tamil politics has been a transnational network of civil-society organisations and social movements spread across the Tamil homeland and the diaspora, advocating for such things as accountability for war-time crimes, genocide recognition, justice and demilitarisation. Sampanthan studiously avoided engagement on these fronts and with these forces.

The upshot of this was that TNA was left to play catch-up as the agendas of accountability and genocide recognition advanced. Left outside the main theatres of political action and struggle, the TNA and Sampanthan clung on to Colombo and in this way became less and less relevant. The TNA today has dwindling capacity to shape, let alone lead, the networked politics of the Tamil cause. This also means, paradoxically, that it is of less relevance to Sinhala political elites. It has no real capacity to bargain as it has nothing to bargain with; it cannot command the broader Tamil movement to call off protests, to drop demands for accountability or even to come up with a unified position on federalism, because the TNA simply has no purchase over it. The only thing it can really deliver is votes, and even that less reliably than before. The TNA does, however, have one function left in Colombo; it allows Sinhala politicians the pleasing illusion of engaging with Tamil demands via engagement with the TNA, without any of the discomfort of actual reform and hard bargaining. 

Sampanthan is often compared to S J V Chelvanayakam, a prominent leader of the Eelam Tamils before and after the end of colonial rule and the widely revered founder of the Federal Party. Chelvanayakam famously, and unsuccessfully, negotiated on two occasions with Sri Lankan prime ministers, but the comparison between him and Sampanthan is superficial. Chelvanayakam transformed Tamil politics in Sri Lanka. He built a popular base for the Federal Party and, through that, an ideological foundation for Tamil nationalism. He consolidated a territorial identity through mass protests and electioneering and reached out to the international community as well as the then-fledgling Eelam Tamil diaspora to advance Tamil demands. In contrast, Sampanthan’s main achievement was to maintain his position in the court politics of Colombo amid the epochal defeats and advances of Tamil nationalist politics over the past decade and a half. 

Under Sampanthan’s leadership, the TNA largely spent the capital and momentum it secured during the peace process, with no tangible benefit for the Tamil people in return. Any remaining electoral support it has is an effect of legacy and the mundane workings of patronage politics, which sits alongside, but does not displace, Tamil nationalist ambitions. Perhaps Sampanthan’s most telling legacy is that the question of his successor rouses little interest or animation among the Tamil polity. Beyond the cramped political horizons of the TNA, Tamil nationalist politics is focussed elsewhere, in sites of struggle both local and international. 

This piece was originally published on Himal magazine

The legal battle involving Mullaitivu Media Association President and Mullaitivu District Journalist Shanmugam Tavaseelan has continued in Sri Lankan courts, with the naval officer who accused Thavaseelan of assault finally appearing in court.

This court case, which has been ongoing for several months, centers around dubious allegations made by the Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer from the Gotabaya Naval Base in Mullaitivu.

On 7 April 2019, Thaavaseelan was covering a rally held by the Tamil families of the disappeared in Mullaitivu. During the protest, an unidentified individual was filmed and threatened the families of the disappeared and members of the press.

The families of the disappeared have continued to protest and demand an account for their loved ones, many of whom were last seen in military custody during the final stages of the armed conflict. In the last six years of demonstrations, over 160 demonstrators have died without knowing the fate of their loved ones.

Thaavaseelan intervened to question the individual on his identity and why he was filming the demonstration on his phone. After this questioning the individual fled and was later apprehended by protesters, upon which he admitted he was a naval officer.

Sri Lankan police did not arrive at the scene despite requests to come. The naval office subsequently filed a case with the Sri Lankan Police in Mullaitivu against Thaavaseelan under false pretenses which led to his arrest. Thaavaseelan was later released on bail after public outcry.

The case has seen multiple hearings, with the naval officer failing to appear. Despite summons, the officer remained absent, leading to a warrant for both the officer and his witness. However, during the hearing today, the officer testified in court and was also cross-examined. The case has been adjourned to August 29, 2024, for further examination.

Locals described the case against Thaavaseelan as “frivolous and devoid of merit and nothing but an act of vendetta”.

In a desperate bid for safety, an Eelam Tamil mother and her two young children, sought refuge in Dhanushkodi, India this week, fleeing from Thalaimannar. 

Yoga Valli, aged 34, along with her children Anuja (8 years old) and Mishal (5 years old), made the journey to India by boat paying Rs.275,000. They were apprehended by Indian authorities when they reached Dhanushkodi. 

According to the information provided by Valli, she had been born in the Vembakottai refugee camp in Virudhunagar district, Visakhapatnam, but she returned to Sri Lanka 15 years ago after getting married. However, her marriage ended in separation, leaving her to raise her two children alone.

Due to the economic crisis, Valli had told authorities that she was unable to look after her family and decided to leave for India where she would seek refuge. She had mentioned that she wished to live with her mother in the Vembakotta camp. Following interrogation, the three family members were handed over to the camp in Mandapam. 

Due to the economic crisis, the number of Eelam Tamils who have arrived in Tamil Nadu seeking refugee has increased to 293.

Tens of thousands of Eelam refugees remain in camps in Tamil Nadu, often in difficult conditions and without any support. Many refugees from Eelam fled Sri Lankan state oppression and have been living in Tamil Nadu for about three decades. Despite this, the Indian government refuses to grant them citizenship.

Gopalakrishnan Gokul Prem Kumar, a former cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and talented artist, died last week under mysterious circumstances. 

It is being reported that he died in a car accident just a few steps away from his home. The incident occurred late on Friday night in the Adampan area of Mannar-Mantai West Divisional Secretary Division.

While standing at the door of his house on Adampan Road, Prem was talking on the phone when a vehicle struck him. The circumstances surrounding the accident remain sketchy leading to suspicions of foul play. Witnesses reported hearing Prem shout that he had been hit by the vehicle before losing consciousness. Prem’s family rushed him to Adampan Hospital but he was transferred to the Mannar District General Hospital where he died.

According to sources Prem had overcome significant challenges in his life. As an amputee, he had lost both a leg and an arm during the armed conflict. His artistic talents and resilience made him a respected figure among his peers.

The tragic murder of poet Prem, who fought bravely for Tamil Eelam and lost one hand and one leg in the struggle, is deeply shocking. Prem played the lead role of an ex-combatant in the movie "Sinamkol." Our heartfelt condolences go out to his loved ones. May his soul find RIP pic.twitter.com/fmxYn0KW9x

— Ranjith Joseph (@RanjithJos) July 6, 2024

More than 50 prominent Tamil diaspora organizations from 15 countries have thrown their weight behind US House Resolution 1230, which calls for an independence referendum to provide Eelam Tamils with a political solution to the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka. The resolution, introduced in Congress on May 15, 2024, has garnered widespread support and is now gaining momentum.

The joint statement by these diaspora organizations welcomed H.Res. 1230, recognizing its historical context and its potential to address the Tamil people’s right to self-determination. Representative Wiley Nickel (NC-13) introduced the resolution, with several other representatives as original cosponsors. The resolution recalls the Vaddukkoddai Resolution of 1976, where the Tamil people asserted their right to an independent, sovereign Tamil Eelam. It also exposes Sri Lanka’s 6th Amendment, which stifles Tamils’ freedom of expression regarding their independence. 

"Over 50 prominent Tamil organizations from 15 countries have already joined the list of endorsements welcoming the H.Res 1230 landmark resolution and urging other members of Congress to support it,” said the US Tamil PAC.

In the joint statement, the organizations noted that this resolution has been introduced at a time when the human rights situation in Sri Lanka also continues to deteriorate, with ethnic tensions rising.

"Despite claims of reconciliation, the recent attacks against Tamil memorialization of the 15th anniversary of the Tamil genocide show the Sri Lankan government’s lack of political will for genuine justice and accountability. Tamils in the North-East continue to protest against ongoing militarization, land grabs, torture in arbitrary detention, and other human rights abuses. The recent report on enforced disappearances released by the UN Human Rights Council highlights the continuing culture of impunity on the island."

In addition to the 50 Tamil Diaspora organizations, more than 35 civil organizations and political parties from the homeland have welcomed the resolution and urged for its swift implementation.

For the full joint statement, see here. 

Former Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra, a vocal member of Sri Lanka’s Opposition Party Samagi Jana Balawegaya, has been sentenced to three years of imprisonment for her involvement in the abduction and assault of a youth.

The sentencing was delivered by Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja on Friday 28th June. Premachandra was found guilty of 18 charges, and the court ordered a fine of Rs. 20,000 for each charge.

Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja declared in open court that the defendant was found guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the abduction of a youth.

Premachandra stands accused of involvement in abducting, assaulting, and wrongfully detaining a youth, identified as Amila Priyanka Amarasinghe, who at the time of the incident was employed at a textile shop in the Dematagoda in Colombo. The youth revealed that while he was employed at the shop, he began an extramarital affair with one of his customers. 

It was after this incident that he was abducted by individuals who had arrived in a Defender, Amarasinghe had told the court. The Deputy Solicitor General in court highlighted the seriousness of the matter, pointing out that Premachadnran had abused her powers as a Member of Parliament to abduct a citizen in an attempt to resolve a domestic dispute. He emphasised that such an abuse of power and authority could not be taken lightly.

In 2017, seven persons identified as supporters of Premachandra pleaded guilty before the court, however, Premachandran did not plead guilty to any of the charges held against her.

Before the sentencing, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, who represented the plaintiff, recalled that the Colombo High Court had previously handed suspended prison sentences and imposed fines on eight supporters of the defendant who pleaded guilty before the court in connection with the abduction incident.

President’s Counsel Anura Maddegoda, who appeared for the defendant Hirunika Premachandra, informed the court that the defendant would file an appeal against this decision. Premachandran maintained that one of the accused, who had pleaded guilty before the court, had seized her Defender without her consent and used it to abduct the victim.

Premachandran is currently in the Magazine prison of Welikada. She is the daughter of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra who was shot dead in Weliweriya, his death having paved the way for her entry into Sri Lankan politics. 

Tamils in Jaffna have protested against the transfer the newly appointed Medical Superintendent of Chavakachcheri Base Hospital, after he claimed that there was corruption occurring at the medical facility.

Sri Lankan security forces, including the Special Task Force and the Police Anti-Riot Squad, were deployed when a tense situation ensued outside the hospital premises, as protesters demanded Dr Archchuna Ramanathan be retained at the hospital. He was reportedly lined up to be transferred out of the hospital, after speaking out against irregularities and corruption that he claimed had been taking place.

Shops and public markets were closed in Chavakachcheri in support of the protest, as tensions flared between Jaffna residents and the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) who have been demanding Dr Ramanathan be replaced.

Reports in the Tamil press cite that Dr Ramanathan had found irregularities, including how doctors at the hospital were not working full-time and were allegedly neglecting patients in favour of running private practices.

Dr Ramanathan has been regularly posting to his Facebook page in what he said is an attempt to expose “corrupt practices”. According to local residents the doctor is the son of a Tamil Eelam police instructor Mr Ramanathan, who was killed by Sri Lankan shell fire in 2009, and also the brother of two Tamil Eelam police cadres.

"There have been instances where patients in the (Outpatients department) have been turned away, this cannot happen,” he said. “Health is an essential service and we are duty-bound to look after the sick. I don't care what action is taken against me.”

In a video posted on Facebook, Dr Ramanathan stated that he was threatened and assaulted for speaking out about the hospital administration, however, a complaint had been lodged with the Sri Lankan police in Jaffna to the contrary, painting him to be the accused.

“I have nothing to fear,” he said. “Because of my actions, the earnings of the GMOA have been stripped off. We no longer allow for bodies to be retained at the hospital simply because it's the weekend and there are no doctors on duty. I ordered that within 24 hours the body must be handed to the family, that doctors must complete their shifts."

As outrage over the decision continues, the issue was raised in Sri Lankan parliament by the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), General Secretary Selvarajah Kajendran.

"There have been simmering tensions over the last three days which resulted in the residents blocking the road and entrance to the hospital," he said. "This doctor in question has exposed several irregularities of the hospital from time to time. In understanding this impact on communities, the doctor has proactively attempted to change administrative issues so that the hospital could offer citizens the health services they need."

Kajendran said that patients lamented they were often sent to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital due to these irregularities and doctors were unavailable for much of the time at Chavakachcheri.

"There were complaints that the doctors and specialists were engaging in private practice than prioritising the hospital work. Dr. Ramanathan realising these issues has attempted to resolve them," said the MP.

Kajendran also blamed the hospital's management and authorities for not rectifying issues at the hospital that resulted in people calling for this doctor to be retained for the services he offered.

A memorial was held to honour the memory of the more than 140 Tamils who were killed in the Navaly Church Massacre on July 9, 1995, at St Peter’s Church in Navaly.

Several Tamils gathered to pay floral tributes and light candles at the same church this week. 

In 1995, the Sri Lankan Air Force dropped 13 bombs on St Peter’s Church in Navaly. More than 140 sheltering Tamils, who were encouraged by the military to seek refuge at the church, were killed on the spot.  At least 13 children were among the dead, with many more succumbing to injuries later as the local hospital was swamped with the wounded. For more on the massacre, see here. 

Attending the funeral of the late Tamil National Alliance leader, R. Sampanthan, Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe commemorated his passing stressing that Sampanthan had “always said that this country cannot be divided” and instead advocated for either a federal system or greater devolution.

Sampanthan’s record on the 13^th Amendment

During his speech, Wickremesinghe further claimed that he was progression negotiations with chief ministers to further the implementation of the 13^th amendment but stressed that this would permit for the transfer of policing powers. 

Last July, Sampanthan had written to India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, slamming the Sri Lankan government for attempting to “abort the implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution resisting brazenly the continuous demands for the devolution of land and police powers and by misappropriating powers already enjoyed by the provinces by legislative manipulations”.

In his letter, he further details the history of previous proposals considered by the Sri Lankan government which include: 

“The government proposals for constitutional reforms in 1995 and 1997 under President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, and the Constitutional Bill of 2000, all proposed extensive devolution of power, and abandoned the unitary state structure”.

Sampanthan was first elected to Sri Lankan parliament in 1977 as one of 17 MPs of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), on a platform of a seperate state for Tamils in the North-East. Sampanthan would later represent TULF at the first set of peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government in 1985 and would support a joint declaration made by the various Tamil delegates, commonly referred to as the Thimpu principles. This declaration built on the earlier 1976 Vaddukoddai resolution and espoused the following cardinal principles that recognised the right of Tamils to self-determination.

Read more here: Remembering the Thimpu principles

These principles were rejected by the Sri Lankan delegation for allegedly violating Sri Lanka’s constitutions. Later the Sri Lankan government would enter discussions with the Indian government to establish a settlement without the involved of Tamil political leaders, this would result in the Indo-Lanka Accords of 1987. The Indo-Lanka Accords introduced the 13^th amendment and called for devolution to North-East provinces of a number of powers including over land and policing.

In writing to Prime Minister Modi, Sampanthan noted his objections at the time to the 13^th amendment being introduced under a unitary framework writing: 

“The Amendment was introduced into a Unitary Constitution making the exercise one of decentralization instead of devolution, to which I along with my leaders, Messrs. Amirthalingam and Sivasithamparam responded by writing to the Prime Minister at that time, Shri. Rajiv Gandhi. We pointed out several flaws in the proposed amendment and consequently the Government of India obtained an assurance from President J R Jayawardena that those will be rectified. It is against this background that every effort made thereafter moved in the direction of surpassing the Thirteenth Amendment towards a federal structure”.

‘Eelam will bloom on account of your lotus bud’

Whilst Sampanthan has voiced support for support for a federal solution, he has garnered criticism for claiming to Sinhala media that he accepted Sri Lanka's lion flag and national anthem whilst simultaneously telling Tamil media that that the LTTE were "freedom fighters".

In the lead up to the 2019 election, Sampanthan spoke in parliament slamming former Mahinda Rajapaksa for alleging that the election would result in Tamil Eelam blooming. 

“We only talked of a solution that is acceptable to our people, that is reasonable, substantial power sharing within the framework of a united, undivided, indivisible, single country. That was the propaganda we carried out in all our areas. And when we did that, how dare President Rajapaksa say that Eelam could bloom after the election? This is not only the deception of the people in the South, innocent, single people in the South, but it is the deception of everyone, including himself. I would like to say, Sir, that I would like to put this on record, because I want everybody in this country to know that it was malicious, vicious, fallacious, false propaganda on the part of President Mahindra Rajapaksa and the Podujana party. And if you persist in this agenda, I want to tell you, Eelam will bloom, not on account of us, on account of your lotus bud”.

Tamils have consistently raised their voices against accepting the 13^th amendment, and Sri Lanka’s unitary framework, as a permanent solution and have instead insisted upon the recognition of Tamil nationhood, self-determination and sovereignty.

As Britain’s new prime minister Keir Starmer takes up office this week, we look back on his previous statements on the British Tamil community, his calls for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court and on justice for mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people.

Earlier this year, Starmer released a message to commemorate  the “15^th year Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day,” paying tribute to the tens of thousands of Tamils killed in 2009.

“Mullivaikkal must also be a reminder that as well as commemorating those who are lost, we must bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice,” he said.

“As Tamil communities across our country pause and reflect upon this solemn day, the Labour Party reaffirms our commitment to work towards lasting peace, reconciliation and a long-lasting political solution for the Tamil people.”

Read more: UK Labour Leader releases statement for ‘Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day’

Earlier this year, Starmer released a statement for the Tamil festival of Thai Pongal stating it was also a “time for us to remember the sacrifices made by the Tamil people for self determination, peace and justice in Sri Lanka”.

Read more: Keir Starmer commemorates 'sacrifices made by the Tamil people for self determination' in Pongal message

In May 2023, on the 14th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, Starmer released a statement that said,

"As Tamil communities across our country pause and reflect upon this solemn day, the Labour Party reaffirms our commitment to secure justice for those Tamil victims who lost their lives, as well as the survivors and their families by urging the government to consider the recommendation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for an international justice mechanism".

At the time, then Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has urged the British government to act upon the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and refer Sri Lankan war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Read more: UK Shadow Foreign Secretary calls for Sri Lanka to be referred to ICC

In January 2023, Starmer raised concern over the continued persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka in his Thai Pongal message and stressed the need for accountability and justice.

Whilst celebrating the harvest festival, Starmer also stressed that now is a time “to remember the sacrifices made by the Tamil people for self-determination, peace, and justice in Sri Lanka”.

He goes on to state his deep concern over “the ongoing economic crisis, persecution of the Tamil people, and the political instability in Sri Lanka”.

Read more: UK Labour Party Leader raises concern over ‘persecution of Tamils’ in Pongal message

In May 2022, Starmer called for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court noting that "the perpetrators of these atrocities still have not been brought to justice".

“The Labour Party stands with the Tamil community as we pause and reflect on this day,” he said.

“Today, the Labour Party recommits to securing justice for the families of those who died and the survivors who suffered such grave human rights violations. We urge the UK Government to stand with the Tamils and heed the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner to refer the perpetrators of atrocities to the International Criminal Court.”

Read more: British MP’s mark Mullivaikkal remembrance, Labour leader calls for Sri Lanka to be sent to ICC

In January 2022, Starmer tweeted “Labour will always stand by the Tamil people in their pursuit of true peace and justice”.

Thai Pongal Valthukkal! On behalf of @UKLabour I wish Tamils in the UK and across the world a happy and bountiful Pongal.

Labour will always stand by the Tamil people in their pursuit of true peace and justice.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 14, 2022

Read more: British politicians and Tamils celebrate Pongal

In May 2021, Starmer reemphasised Labour's commitments to establishing an international accountability mechanism and called on Britain to impose sanctions on Sri Lankan government officials and military personnel responsible for war crimes.

“We call on the British government to deploy human rights sanctions against senior Sri Lankan government officials and military personnel so that the perpetrators of all alleged mass atrocity crimes and serious human rights violations can be held accountable and brought to justice.”

Read more: British politicians demand sanctions and international justice on Mullivaikkal anniversary

In January 2021, Starmer expressed his gratitude "for the huge contribution the Tamil community has made during the pandemic."

He also raised concerns over Sri Lanka's decision to withdraw from the 2015 UN Human Rights Council Resolution on accountability, justice and reconciliation and called on the UK "to lead and be a strong voice on international accountability."

Read more: UK Labour leader raises ‘deep concerns’ over Sri Lanka during Thai Pongal message

In 2020, Starmer said his thoughts are “with the British Tamil Community as they mark the 11th anniversary of Mullivaikkal, a day of remembrance to honour the memory of those victims who were killed and disappeared in the final weeks of the civil war in Sri Lanka”.

“Though communal acts of remembrance are not possible at this time, I know that Tamil communities across our country will be united together as they pause and reflect upon this solemn day,” he added.

“Mullivaikkal must also be a reminder that as well as commemorating those who are lost, we must bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice. This can only occur through a renewed effort to seek truth, accountability and reconciliation - a purpose to which we must all remain committed.”

Read more: British politicians mark Mullivaikkal anniversary with calls for accountability

On this day 29 years ago, the Sri Lankan air force dropped 13 bombs on St Peter’s Church in Navaly. More than 140 sheltering Tamils, who were encouraged by the military to seek refuge at the church, were killed on the spot.  At least 13 children were amongst the dead, with many more succumbing to injuries later as the local hospital was swamped with the wounded.

At approximately 4:30 pm on July 9, 1995, the St Peter’s Church in Navaly and the nearby Sri Kathirgama Murugan Kovil, which were both sheltering displaced Tamils from army bombardment, was attacked.

‘Bombs rolling in the air’

Eyewitnesses report seeing cluster bombs dropped in the church compound.

Chandrasekaran Selvanayagam and his then five-year-old brother Sasiraj  were at their home adjacent to the church on the morning of the attack and recall seeing aircraft circling the region.

“Before I could run bombs began falling," recalled Sasiraj, years later." Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion. That is all I remember till I woke up in hospital”. He has lost his sight completely in the attack. His mother was killed in their home.

^{A mother mourns her child.}

Testimonies collected by the ICRC are reproduced below:

"Pragasam Rajendran (M) 73 years - was just at the entrance of his house which is adjacent to the church premises. Had seen the plane. His wife Nageswary stayed next to him and saw 'the bombs rolling in the air like pamphlets'. He had started shouting and alerted the others to lie down. As the wife laid down, she heard the first explosion and continuously some more.'

Anthony Manuelpillai (M) 73 years - who came to the church premises to fetch water from the well had seen the plane at a very low altitude and saw the bombs falling 'like rolling papers'.

Jeganathan Jeyakumar (M) 17 years - was at a junction which is nearly 100 yards from the church premises. He had seen clusters of white objects moving towards him. As the plane passed over him blaring, he said he lied down and heard a series of explosions around the church area.

Antonythas Arulammah (F) 40 years - who was near the school building inside the church premises had seen the plane dropping something without diving downwards. She said she lied down after someone nearby alerted her for falling bombs.

Velupillai Arulammah (M) 59 years - he saw the plane dropping bombs while he was cooking meals for the displaced people inside the church compound.

George Theva (F) 45 years - was standing on the road outside the church premises. She had seen the plane dropping some objects like 'big watermelon'.

Father James (M) - was at St.Anthony's Church, Manipay during the incident. He saw one plane and about 6 bombs falling one after another."

Reaction

According to eye-witness accounts, this church and several adjacent buildings were hit by further air force strikes at 4.30 p.m. the same day. During the attack 65 people were killed and 150 wounded, including women and children. That evening and into the night Sri Lanka Red Cross staff evacuated most of the wounded by ambulance to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) present the next morning at the scene of the attack noted the widespread damage and measured the extent of the tragedy: many of the bodies had not yet been removed from the rubble.

- International Committee of the Red Cross Communication to the Press No.95/30 (11 July 1995)

"Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead found under the rubble of a Catholic church bombed by the Sri Lankan air force, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said on Tuesday.

The military, which said it was not aware of any church being bombed, had dropped leaflets warning civilians in the rebel-held peninsula to seek refuge in temples and churches to minimise the chance of death or injury in air strikes.

 `This is really a violation of humanitarian law if a civilian area has been deliberately targeted,'' Henry said, adding that he had no information on whether the attack was deliberate or an accident.

- Reuters (11 July 1995)

"Pope John Paul said on Wednesday he was suffering along with the families of people killed when air force bombs hit a church in Sri Lanka.

"I want to express my deep-felt sharing in the suffering of so many people involved in the ethnic conflict that is tearing Sri Lanka apart," he told pilgrims and tourists at his weekly general audience. "I share the grief of those who lost their loved ones in the bombing of the church and school of Navali," he added.

- Reuters (12 July 1995)

I very much regret to report to you the tragic killings of innocent civilian refugees who had gathered at the above Church on the instruction of your Defence Ministry.

A 'Pukkara' Air Craft had dropped a cluster of many bombs on this crowd of refugees who had taken shelter in the church resulting in the death of over 65 civilians including women and children and over 150 were seriously injured sustaining the loss of limbs.

Besides many were rendered homeless as many houses were razed to the ground and others heavily damaged, including our church and priest's house. All the people in this village have fled to safer areas as refugees.

Therefore we very earnestly appeal to Your Excellency to kindly instruct your forces to desist from bombing, strafing, artillery rocked attacks on civilian targets like Kovils, Churches, Schools and Hospitals."

- Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Savundranayagam in a letter to Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga (10 July 1995)

"Most of the people huddled inside were women and children, many of whom were killed immediately. Others had limbs blown off. Survivors were brought by tractor to the town of Jaffna 6 km away, but the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and its lone surgeon weren't prepared. They soon ran out of bandages, antibiotics and beds. "The treatment was crude", said Subramaniam Jebanesan, the Protestant Bishop of Jaffna, who rushed to the hospital to help. "Limbs that could have been saved had to be amputated".

- Time Magazine (31 July 1995)

"St.Peters Church in Navaly and the adjoining St.Peter's School where hundreds had sought shelter were badly gutted. 56 bodies were retrieved from the debris, many of whom were women and children. The final death toll in Navaly was about 120. Rescue workers have reported that torn limbs and pieces of human flesh were strewn over the area."

- Press Release by Humanitarian Law Project, International Educational Development (12 July 1995)

“The Sri Lanka government, initially denied the bombing of the St.Peters Church. Then it criticised the ICRC representative for reporting the incident to the world media without consulting the Government. Later the government promised to hold an inquiry into the incident…The aerial bombardment of civilian population centres and places of worship follow a pattern set by the Sri Lanka armed forces over the past several years and President Kumaratunga's belated promise to investigate the recent violations, must ring hollow in the ears of the Tamil people whose kith and kin have lost their lives or their limbs in the bomb outrage.”

- A joint statement by 21 NGOs condemning the government’s killing of civilians. (1995)

Background

The bombing took place on the first day of the Sri Lankan military’s ‘Operation Leap Forward’, a large-scale military offensive against the positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) north of the city of Jaffna to retake the Jaffna peninsula.

In the preceding weeks, the Sri Lankan air force had dropped leaflets across the region, instructing Tamil civilians to seek shelter at churches and temples as the military offensive began.

The war effort was being led by then Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Negotiations she had entered into with the LTTE had broken down, and when the war resumed in July 1995, the Sri Lankan armed forces had rearmed and expanded, acquiring helicopter gunships, heavier artillery and armour, as well as re-deploying troops from the eastern province into the Jaffna peninsula ahead of a new military project.

Several Sri Lankan units still boast of their involvement in the offensive to this day.

^{Sri Lankan troops in Jaffna, 1995.}

‘I have no blood on my hands’ – Chandrika

^{Kumaratunga toasts as she receives France’s highest national honour, 2018.}

The Sri Lankan government initially denied any knowledge of the bombing, before attempting to blame the LTTE for the killings.

As the scale of the massacre became clear, then Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar lashed out at the ICRC for releasing information on the attack. Members of the ICRC who attempted to protest the attack were reportedly summoned to Sri Lanka’s foreign office.

Meanwhile, Kumaratunga told reporters that “it was probably the work of the LTTE who were firing mortar shells in that direction.”

“The ICRC says all kinds of things," Reuters quoted her as saying. “There was fighting three kilometers northwest of Navali, so it was unlikely any action by the security forces would have affected the church or its environs.”

In 2015, she told an audience, "I have not done anything wrong… I don’t have blood on our hands”. Earlier that year, she had boasted of having won “75%” of the war during her tenure by going to war with the LTTE. And despite her tenure in office marred by the bombing of churches, schools and the massive military invasion of Jaffna, killing countless Tamil civilians.

Kumaratunga has repeatedly denied the need for an independent international investigation into war crimes. In 2017, she told a gathering in Jaffna, “We have no intention to drag the soldiers before courts and send them to gallows”.

In 2018 she was awarded France’s highest national honour,  the Medal of “Commandeur de la Légion D’Honneur”.

Remembering the massacred

The ICRC compiled a list of 108 names that they identified as having been killed in the aftermatk of the massacre. At least 37 children are amongst the dead.

See the full list below.

29 years on from the massacre, no one has been held accountable for the killings.

This weekend saw the funeral of former leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Rajavarodayam Sampanthan in Trincomalee.

The funeral was attended by several senior political figures including former leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Mavai Senathirajah, M.A. Sumanthiran, Ranil Wickremesinghe and controversially members of the Rajapaksa clan.

Former president, and accused war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Namal Rajapaksa were seen in attendance. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is accused of overseeing the Tamil genocide, issued a statement morning the loss of R Sampanthan and describing him as an "old friend and colleague".

Speaking at the funeral, Wickremesinghe said that Sampanthan's passing "is the loss of a long-time friend". He went on to claim that Sampanthan "consistently advocated for power-sharing in a united Sri Lanka and never advocated for separatism" although Sampanthan first entered Sri Lanka’s parliament in 1977, on the TULF platform of a separate state for Tamils in the North-East. 

Students at the University of Jaffna held a remembrance event in secret to mark Black Tigers Day last Friday. 

On July 5, Eelam Tamils across the world remember and mourn the sacrifices made by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) elite women and men, the Black Tigers. “Karumpuli Naal” marks the sacrifice made by the first Black Tiger, Captain Miller, or Vallipuram Vasanthan.

In 2008 the LTTE declared that 356 Black Tigers had laid down their lives, 254 of them in sea operations since Captain Miller's attack. It is not yet known how many sacrificed their lives during the final phases of the war.

Read more in our feature: Remembering the Black Tigers.