A “Sri Ramayana Trail” project was launched in Colombo last month, with the backing of the Indian High Commission and the chief treasurer of the controversial Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

The initiative is part of an Indian government backed move to expedite connectivity and bolstering ties between India and Sri Lanka.

According to Sri Lankan President’s Media Division “the Sri Ramayan Trails seeks to highlight nine significant sites mentioned in the epic Ramayana, scattered across Sri Lanka”.

“By offering a spiritual and cultural journey for Hindu pilgrims and travellers alike, the initiative aims to draw millions of Indian and international tourists to the country. Its overarching goal is to strengthen the nation’s spiritual and cultural heritage while also boosting its tourism sector.” 

Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, the chief treasurer of the Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was present at the event in Colombo, alongside Indian officials.

The launch of the latest project comes as India continues to pursue closer ties to Sri Lanka. For years, Sinhala Buddhists have staunchly opposed such moves.

The Sri Lankan government is in the process of establishing a small arms ammunition manufacturing unit within the island, as the state shows no sign of stopping the rampant militarisation that has taken place over years.

Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo, State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon told reporters that Sri Lanka was in the process of replicating the ‘India model’, which has seen New Delhi export weaponry around the world.

“What you have to understand is the Indian defence manufacturing arm has boomed during the last two decades,” he said. “It is a model that we have to look into. We can take a lot from the Indian model and nothing wrong with learning from them. I think we also should get into manufacturing.”

The Sri Lankan army currently manufactures its own body armour and combat helmets at a military facility in Veyangoda.

“The government hopes to develop this facility going forward, and in the future, we hope to produce the ammunition we need for our light weapons we use in the army in this facility,” said Tennakoon.

“At the moment, we are spending around 36-37 rupees per bullet when importing,” Brigadier Ravi Herath, the Army spokesman, told EconomyNext. “And we have regular firing sessions such as Annual firing and training, which will cost millions, as one officer will need approximately around 300 bullets for one of these sessions.”

When asked if Sri Lanka would purchase military equipment from India, Tennakoon said that Colombo was not looking to buy weaponry “at the moment”.

"Connectivity is really good and military-to-military connectivity,” Tennakoon continued. “Indian and Sri Lankan military-to-military connectivity is at a high. So we maintain that. So that doesn't mean that we are going to buy anything from anyone.”

His remarks come after the Indian High Commission organised an event in Colombo where it showcased weapons for sale to senior Sri Lankan officials, including those accused of war crimes, last month.

Responding to a documentary, by Germany’s DW, detailing human rights abuses committed by UN peacekeeping officers from Bangaldesh and Sri Lanka, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, noted that he was aware of the abuses and reaffired the UN's commitment to proper vetting.

The human rights crimes committed include allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings.

“We’ve seen the documentary and as you may know our colleagues in the peacekeeping have been interacting and gave a statement to the producers. But we want to restate very clearly that the Secretariat is committed to deploying personnel that meet the highest standard of efficiency and integrity,” he said. “Including for and respect for commitment to human rights.”

#WATCH the exchange with the @UN_Spokesperson on the @dwnews documentary exposing #HumanRightsViolations by peacekeeping officers from #Bangladesh and #SriLanka. @antonioguterres is aware and committed to high standards of integrity and human rights in peacekeeping missions, as… pic.twitter.com/7XReeIcZvd

— Mushfiqul Fazal (Ansarey) (@MushfiqulFazal) May 22, 2024

Dujarric also added three parts to the screening of the officers, including self-certification, certification by the sending country, and a procedure by the High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights. “Over the years there have been cases where we were informed of allegations of past human rights violations committed by uniform personnel from a few countries who deploy to peacekeeping missions. When such cases differ the peacekeeping mission takes appropriate actions. It can result in uniform personnel not being deployed or repatriated if allegations are substantial.”

Andrew Gilmour, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights told DW that the UN does not have an option. "it's not as if the UN then can say, OK, we'll take this group because we think this country respects human rights. And I'm sorry guys, we're not going to take you." He said that in a situation "where literally thousands of people could be killed in the absence of UN peacekeepers, which — when you have to balance things — perhaps sending two or three bad apples is a less-bad option than thousands of people getting killed."

Sri Lanka’s most recent contingent for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) left the country in April, despite the many allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by officers from Sri Lanka tri-forces. 

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has called for the suspension of all Sri Lankan peacekeepers following the release of the UN human rights commissioners report. The report highlighted that the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, which is responsible for the vetting of Sri Lankan troops, has been "politicised and its independence undermined by the appointment of a former Government minister as its chairperson" the ITJP stated in a press release.

The deployment of Sri Lankan forces comes despite grievous human rights abuses during peacekeeping missions. In 2007, over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti. Sri Lankan troops were accused of exchanging food and money for sex with girls and boys as young as 12. While most of the accused were repatriated, none have been criminally prosecuted.

Read more here: UN peacekeepers in Haiti ‘fathered hundreds of babies’ with young girls with violence and coercion

^{Illustration by Keera Ratnam / wavesofcolour}

Tamils across the world marked the 15th anniversary of the massacres at Mullivaikkal last week. Thousands gathered, en masse in public commemorations and in private ceremonies at homes, to pay tribute to those who were killed by the Sri Lankan state. As they did so, they were clear in who they paid tribute to – the victims of a deliberate and systematic genocide.

From all perspectives, including legally, the Mullivaikkal massacres meet the definition of the word ‘genocide’. Indeed, the term had been used to describe the state’s treatment of Tamils prior to 2009. Alarm bells rang long before bombs were being dropped on civilians who were instructed to gather in designated ‘No Fire Zones’. The island’s brutal history of massacres and pogroms from 1958 onwards, numerous discriminatory laws, dismissal of Tamil demands for equality and repeated racist statements from Sri Lankan leaders made the intent behind the repression clear. Throughout its post-independence history, the Sri Lankan state refused to tolerate an independent Tamil identity that was not subservient to Sinhala Buddhism. Any dissent would be brutally crushed. The events at Mullivaikkal made that chauvinism impossible to ignore.

As Sri Lankan troops invaded the Vanni, in December 2008 the Genocide Prevention Project compiled a Mass Atrocity Crimes Watch List, with Sri Lanka just one of eight countries where a genocide was either ongoing or at risk of taking place. Scholars and experts worldwide, as well as the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets, were clear in their condemnation. As Colombo’s campaign of indiscriminate shelling, repeated targeting of civilians, executions of those who attempted to surrender, rape, torture and internment of more than 300,000 people came to a close, the logic behind it was clear. The Sri Lankan state was deliberately attempting to eliminate the Eelam Tamil people.

Current conflicts in Ukraine and Myanmar, and especially the bombardment of Gaza, are leading many to now reflect on the horrors of Mullivaikkal. The parallels are difficult to ignore. But in doing so, they must not whitewash the atrocities that took place. Attempts in the South to commemorate “all lives” lost in the conflict, ceremonies which Sri Lanka permits to take place without state harassment, distort the fact that it was Tamils who were targeted. It was disheartening, but unsurprising to see no mention of the word “genocide” in any of those events. This was in stark contrast to commemorations in the North-East and diaspora centres globally. Refusing to acknowledge that it was the Tamil people who were persecuted in such a manner, and have been for decades, obfuscates the repression they face. The Southern events fail to consider how decades of state racism led to the slaughter of more than 169,000 Tamils in 2009. Moreover, it allows the state to cover under the “fog of war” and attempt to justify their actions as within international norms. This was not a war on terror, as Sri Lanka continues to claim. It was a war on the Tamil people.

To this day, that war has not stopped. Alongside the continued violence the Tamil people face, a point that the United Nations human rights chief has spoken out on repeatedly, the state has intensified its process of colonisation of the Tamil homeland. The construction of Buddhist structures has accelerated and settlers continue to encroach on Tamil areas despite Sri Lanka’s pitiful economic situation. All of this is enacted by the government with the blessings of extremist monks and the brute force of the almost entirely Sinhala military. The goal is clear; to eliminate the Tamil nation and establish the island as a bastion of Sinhala Buddhism.

The reluctance to recognise the killings for what they were may in part be because it would mean accepting that there was a failure of the international community to act when it should have. States have a duty to protect and prevent genocides from happening. In the case of Sri Lanka though, despite the ample evidence and desperate pleas, governments around the world instead enabled it.

That is, however, beginning to change. In capitals around the world, from Washington D.C. to London to Ottawa, influential figures are recognising the importance of using the term. There is a growing understanding that only through recognising genocide took place, that the underlying causes behind the decades of instability of the island can be addressed. This would not have been possible were it not for the determination of Tamils who braved ongoing surveillance, harassment and intimidation from Sri Lanka’s security forces to gather and speak out against the genocide, as they have done every year since the massacres took place. If true peace is ever to be found their voices that must be heeded.

In a statement released to mark the “15^th year Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day,” Labour leader Keir Starmer paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Tamils killed in 2009.

“Today my thoughts are with the Tamil victims, survivors, and their loved ones, who continue to live with the pain caused by the atrocities they suffered,” said Starmer.

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

“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.”

Starmer’s message was read out at Trafalgar Square at a remembrance event organised by the British Tamils Forum (BTF).

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”.

Last year, the Labour leader said the 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”.

In 2022, Starmer called on the UK government to “stand with the Tamils and heed the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner to refer the perpetrators of the atrocities to the International Criminal Court".

He has also called 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".

“Labour will always stand by the Tamil people in their pursuit of true peace and justice,” he also said in 2022.

Starmer’s statement to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day came just days before a general election was called in the UK.

Voting will take place on July 4^th.

The 2024 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation has been awarded to Tamil women's rights activist Suganthini Mathiyamuthan Thangaras.

Suganthini, who is with the "Amara" organization , has been fighting for the rights and empowerment of war-affected women in Tamil Eelam against the repression and suffering caused by the Sri Lankan government and its security forces. 

She is a survivor of sexual violence and of the 2009 Mullivaikkal genocide.

“She stands as a symbol of courage and hope for the numerous women who have lost everything to the military,” said the May 18 Foundation.

"We are confident that Suganthini’s activities are closely aligned with the spirit of May 18, and we strongly support and admire her endeavours to improve the human rights situation of Tamil women in Sri Lanka," said the 2024 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Jury Committee chairperson, Song Seon-tae.

The committee further stressed that "we hope that the international community’s attention, cooperation, and solidarity will enable the truth about the atrocities perpetrated by the security forces in the Tamil Eelam region to be brought to light".

"My purpose of joining the liberation movement was two-fold," Suganthini says. "One is to liberate the Tamils from the Sinhala state oppression, and the other is to safeguard the Tamil women from sexual violence of the Sri Lankan military apparatus."

Suganthini says before the end of the armed conflict in 2009, the “security and dignity of women were ensured to a significant extent under the governance of the LTTE”.

"Women could travel safely even at midnight without fear," she said. "They were empowered to be self-sufficient and live independently. Measures were taken to support women's self-employment. provide self-defence training and raise awareness to overcome societal barriers stemming from patriarchal structures."

She says men and women were given equal opportunities in various sectors, leading to a gradual change in attitudes and patriarchal norms, almost eliminating them.

However, with the Sri Lankan military offensive that culminated in the 2009 genocide, things changed. “Instead, reports emerged of sexual violence, torture and rape, perpetrated not only against women, but also children and the elderly."

Suganthini recalls when she was arrested by the Sri Lankan military and taken to the Joseph camp, a notorious base in Vavuniya, where she was “subjected to horrific torture”.

"They stripped me and tortured me relentlessly," she said. "From the leader to the fellow military personnel. they raped me continuously leaving me utterly traumatised."

She recalls that on days when she was menstruating, she had no clothes to wear, adding to the humiliation and agony. "When I pleaded with the warden for clothing, they callously mocked me telling me to ask Prabhakaran for his underwear."

She says there were 11 other women in the same cell who were subjected to the same horrors, “all of us kept naked”.

 "Tragically two of them died, and the rest of are too traumatised to speak about what they endured." She says that she the many other women are still struggling to recover from those experiences, many experiencing mental health issues because of the torture.

“Given the unbearable pain and suffering we endured, I can’t ask these women to relive their trauma by testifying as witnesses,” she commented. “We also heard screams from other cells in the Joesph camp, indicating that similar atrocities may have been taking place in the other cells too.”

It was these experiences that led Suganthini to found Amara, which helps women combat all forms of abuse with the ultimate goal of achieving freedom and empowerment for women. 

Accompanying Suganthini on stage was Tamil politicians and rights activist Ananthy Sasitharan. Sasitharan outlined the history of Tamil genocide that has taken place on the island and the Tamil people’s struggle for self-determination.

“To this date we have not had any justice for this genocide,” she said, adding that it was still ongoing to this day.

“I am convinced that justice for Tamil issues cannot be realised without the empowerment and freedom of women,” she continued. “After the torture I faced and witnessed directly at the hands of the military, I couldn’t stay silent without taking action.”

Suganthini however said she had faced threats and intimidation from the Sri Lankan police and military over her work. “Whatever happens, I am committed to facing it head on and standing up for women until they receive the justice they deserve.”

Following the 15th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, Human Rights Watch has issued a statement condemning the crackdown on memorials by Sri Lanka's security forces and called international prosecutions and other accountability measures to address tens of thousands of Tamils who were subject to enforced disappearances.

“The Sri Lankan government is in denial about atrocities its forces committed during the civil war, so it tries to silence victims and their communities instead of providing truth, justice, and reparations,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s clear that more international action is needed to bring relief to victims and prevent a recurrence of abuses.”

The HRW report details how the Sri Lankan government cracked down on several memorials, including one in Trincomalee, in which four Tamils were arrested for serving "kanji". The serving of "kanji" during the anniversary of the genocide has become a tradition as it serves as a reminder of the starvation conditions Eelam Tamils were subject to during the final phase of the armed conflict. 

In addition to arresting these individuals, Sri Lankan authorities also gained permission from the courts to prevent some relatives of forcibly disappeared and others protesters from attending events. This was supported by the Sri Lankan police who actively monitored processions and blocked people from reaching these memorials.

The Sri Lankan military stands accused of a litany of war crimes including the indiscriminate shelling of designated "no-fire zones", hospitals and engaging in summary executions. The International Truth and Justice Project estimating that as over as 169,000 people were killed during the final phase.

The statement also highlights the findings of the UN Sri Lankan Accountability Project, which was set up in 2021, and detailed that in 15 years, there has been no “tangible progress in realizing victims’ rights,” and therefore “there remains a real risk of recurrence.”

The statement concluded by calling on foreign governments and un agenies to  "implement the report’s recommendations, including using all forms of leverage to press the Sri Lankan government to act, providing technical assistance for exhumations, pursuing prosecutions abroad under universal jurisdiction, and stricter vetting of Sri Lankan personal involved in UN peacekeeping operations”.

HRW's report also called on Sri Lanka to immediately carry out the UN report’s recommendations, including acknowledging the scale of enforced disappearances, pursuing prompt and credible investigations, seeking international technical assistance to investigate mass graves, establishing an independent prosecutorial authority, and repealing legislation that enables abuses, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Read HRW's statement here. 

An event was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on Saturday to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The students prepared and distributed Mullivaikkal kanji, held a vigil, and lit candles in memory of those who were murdered by Sri Lankan security forces 15 years ago.

Students also demanded that an independence referendum be conducted.

The event took place alongside others across the Tamil homeland and around the world, to mark 15 years since the killing of tens of thousands of Tamils.

^{Photographs by Prabuddha Dikwatte.}

Tamils in South Wales commemorated Tamil Genocide Day in Swansea. Mullivaikal survivors made speeches and shared their experiences of 2009.

Tamils in Wales have taken the noble task of planting trees every year on May 18th on the same field, and each tree bears a message regarding the Tamil Genocide. This event was organized by "Thamilar Sangamam - Wales" - An organization set up to bring together the Tamil community in Wales. Tamils all over the UK and the world have been marking Tamil Genocide Day through demonstrations and marches. This day presents an opportunity for Tamils to shed light on the need to hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for the war crimes and atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Security Forces. 

^{Defence Attaché of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow visiting a weapons manufacturer in 2019.}

The Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka leapt to defence of Colombo last week, expressing its “perplexity” at the apparent pressure place don Sri Lanka by Western governments over its human rights record.

Issuing a statement on May 20, just two days after Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, the embassy claimed “numerous Western political figures, diplomats, and foreign quasi-human rights organizations have come up with their critical statements and abundant observations”.

“The Embassy as the official representative of the Russian Federation would like once again to express its perplexity by the way those “ambassadors of justice” see things,” the statement continued.

“Why are they reticent about the Gaza situation? Why don't they provide their assessment of the humanitarian damage NATO caused to Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, and other regions to which the Alliance aims to export its freedom of democracy?”

Press release of the Russian Embassy regarding third-party assessments of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/B1EzQOq5br

— Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka (@RusEmbSriLanka) May 20, 2024

The Russian embassy has been a long-time ally of Sri Lanka, supplying the country with arms and ammunition during the armed conflict. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov during a visit to Colombo in 2020 said that his country was “ready to  continue to provide the Sri Lankan forces with all the weapons they need for security.” 

The Sri Lankan Army was equipped with Russian-made infantry weapons and the Sri Lanka Air Force used Russian-built aircraft. The armed conflict saw the death of tens of thousands of Tamils who were shot and shelled while they fled to safe zones, which themselves were continuously bombed by the Sri Lankan security forces.

“Those Russian aircraft changed the dynamics in the battlefield and paved the way to bring peace to the country in 2009,” according to the Sri Lanka mission in Russia. 

The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry organised a ceremony to mark ‘War Heroes Day’ on May 19, as Tamils across the North-East mourned the tens of thousands killed by the Sri Lankan military during the Mullivaikkal genocide.

According to the Defence Ministry  the comemoration was held as Sri Lanka  "enters into yet another year of peace, unity, and renewed hope since the terrorist war ended".

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was joined by accused war criminal and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to mark the occasion. In tow were accused war criminals Chief of Defence Staff Shavendra Silva, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Wasantha Karannagoda.

Participants laid wreaths and paid tribute to Sri Lankan soldiers who they claimed "liberated the country from the clutches of terrorism".

Over 169,000 Tamils remain unaccoutned for from the last phase of the Sri Lankan military offensive alone. The period was littered with routine abuses included the repeated bombing of hospitals, the execution of surrendering Tamils and widespread sexual violence.

Meanwhile, in the North-East, thousands of Eelam Tamils held commemorations to mourn those massacred, in a day marked globally as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard who attended the Mullivaikkal commemoration event called on the international community to take decisive action by referring Sri Lanka to the United Nations Security Council with a view to an International Criminal Court investigation over the massacres.

Read more here. 

Tamils in Germany marked Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day with a march that moved towards the State Parliament in Düsseldorf.

The event was organised in coordination with the Tamil Youth Organization. A large gathering of Tamils participated in this rally holding placards and calling on the government to hold Sri Lanka accountable and to support Tamils' right to self-determination. 

On Saturday, May 18, marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, Tamils across France organised commemorative events.

In Clichy, France Captain Manalan's sister, who died in Manalaru in 1992, offered floral tributes, while the mother of hero Vinod, who died in Anaiyarauch Samar in 1991 also laid flowers. Along with Clichy's Deputy Mayor, former Mayor and City Council members also extended their support and solidarity. Mullivaikkal kanji was served at the event.

Meanwhile, another event took place simultaneously in Paris. The rally started at Place de la Republique and ended at Place de la Bataille de Stalingrad. The public flame was lit in front of the Mullivaikal monument by a family member who lost 13 relations in the soil of Mullivaikal. 

.

Tamils also gathered in Drancy, France to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Mrs. Aude Lagarde, Mayor of Drancy Mr. Jean-Christophe Lagarde, former Mayor of Drancy Mr. Hamid Chabani, Sports Officer and Departmental Councillor Mr. Michel Lastapis, Head of Housing, attended the memorial service.

Ivry-sur-Seine, France

Villeneuve

Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran praised those “who took up arms on our behalf” as part of the Tamil liberation struggle this month, as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day was marked around the world.

“Although it is my personal belief that a just political liberation cannot be achieved at the point of a gun, I have repeatedly stated that we cannot today decry or judge the decision taken by the Tamil youth who saw no other option at a time when oppression and military,” he said in the run up to commemoration events.

“I have also consistently emphasised that the commitment and sacrifices unselfishly made by those who took up arms on our behalf should be regarded very highly.”

His remarks came before Sumanthiran made a rare appearance at the main commemoration ceremony at Mullivaikkal on May 18, the site of the Tamil genocide.

Before he travelled to Mullivaikkal however, the Ilankai tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP took part in another event at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo.

Organised with the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a diaspora organisation that has come under immense criticism from Tamils in recent months, the theme of the event was to remember “"all victims of war over 30 years in the north and south".

There was no mention of the Tamil genocide at that event.