Canadian city of Brampton recognises May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day

by Abi
Apr 25, 2019

The city of Brampton, passed a motion on Wednesday recognising that the atrocities perpetrated by Sri Lanka against the Tamil nation constituted genocide, and recognising May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The motion entitled ‘proclamation declaring Tamil genocide’ and moved by Mayor Patrick Brown, was passed unanimously by the council of the city, which is home to a significant Tamil population.

The full motion stated:

WHEREAS, The Tamil people, living in their traditional homeland in North-East Sri Lanka, were subjected to severe persecution and injustice by the rulers of the Government of Sri Lanka after the independence Granted by British in 1948, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction; and

WHEREAS, the horrible experience of the Tamils at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 2009 what is known as the Genocide of the Twenty first Century; and

WHEREAS, The Tamil Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of thousands of Tamil intellectuals, and political, religious leaders; and

WHEREAS, the regime in control of Sri Lanka planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Tamil people from 1958 through 2009, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of more than 100,000 Tamils; and

WHEREAS, newspapers in Canada commonly carried headlines such as "Toronto's Hidden Genocide" "Thousands protest Tamil Genocide", and "How the world should react to Sri Lanka's Killing Fields"; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity and genocide, and those denials compound the grief of the remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, the passage of time and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition and reaffirmation of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, Canada has become home to one of the largest population of Tamils from Sri Lanka, and those citizens have enriched our country through leadership in the fields of academia, medicine, business, agriculture, government, and the arts and are proud and patriotic practitioners of Canadian citizenship;

Therefore Be It Resolved That the City of Brampton:

(a) Endorse the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) findings on Sri Lanka's crimes against humanity and UNHRC HighCommissioner's recent call for Sri Lanka to enact legislation to criminalize war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide; and

(b) Recognize that these crimes against the Tamil Nation in Sri Lanka constitute a genocide; and

(c) Recognize that May 18th as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day as commemorated by Tamil Canadians every year for the last 9 years; and to educate others about the tragic loss of life, land, and human rights of the Tamil Nation and the crimes of genocide committed against them; and

(d) Send a copy of this Resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and Brampton Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs).

Add new comment

About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.

Restricted HTML

  • You can align images (data-align="center"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • You can caption images (data-caption="Text"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
  • You can embed media items (using the <drupal-media> tag).

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

link button

 

Last News

Business

Music

Trending in Design

test

Dec 19

this is testy

test

this is the test artical 

Tamil asylum seekers in Australia mark 100 days of continuous protests for permanent visas

Over 200 refugees and supporters marked a significant milestone by marching 10 kilometers from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office to the Immigration Minister’s office this week, commemorating 100 days of continuous protest.

This demonstration, which culminated in a rally and speeches in Punchbowl, highlighted the plight of refugees denied permanent visas for over 12 years. Speakers at the event shed light on the profound impact of the current system, including barriers to higher education, employment, and access to essential services.

The protest has now entered its 100th day, with Tamil asylum seekers and their supporters continuing their relentless demand for permanent protection. For 38 days, they camped outside Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke’s office in Sydney, calling on the government to end the visa limbo that has left many without basic rights and stability. Tamil asylum seekers have been in Australia for over a decade, living on short-term visas that must be renewed regularly. Without permanent residency, they are excluded from Medicare—Australia’s universal health insurance scheme—and are denied the right to work, study, travel, or access essential services. Many are also required to report to visa offices weekly.

The crisis is compounded by the controversial 'Fast Track' system introduced in 2014 by the Abbott government. According to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, this system has resulted in the rejection of around 8,500 asylum seekers' cases. It specifically targets individuals who sought asylum by sea and arrived in Australia between August 13, 2012, and December 31, 2013. Tamil asylum seekers, stuck in visa limbo for years, have launched protests nationwide, with 24-hour encampments in Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane.

Amaran - Problematic propaganda

amaran

The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

 

 

 

The patriotic military films of Tamil cinema had taken a back seat for a while. The subject matter is now seldom a prominent theme of a film, instead lurking in the shadows peeking through such as via the heroes in the works of Nelson Dilipkumar. The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

The film follows the tale of Major Mukund Varadarajan (Sivakarthikeyan) and his partner Indhu Rebecca Varghese (Sai Pallavi), who meet at college and soon become lovers. Indhu grapples with her lover’s life ambition of becoming a soldier for the Indian army, admiring his courage and more than willing to become his doting wife at home. We then watch as Mukund is stationed in Kashmir and follow along with his various missions in the volatile area. The film’s depiction of the Indian army is one solely made up of heroes rescuing civilians and looking out for the public’s interests. It is not necessary to delve too much into why this is an oversimplified and problematic portrayal.

The central performances by Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi carry the almost three hour film adequately. Despite moments where Sivakarthikeyan lacks the intensity to land highly emotional scenes, the pair deftly share the screen between them, with Pallavi picking up any slack. Another notable performance comes from Geetha Kailasam, a character actor who has featured in many films recently in the role of ‘the mother.’ ‘Amaran’ gives her another opportunity to showcase her own humorous brand of motherhood.

Technically, the film runs smoothly. The film is decently shot and edited. Other than a few overly melodramatic moments, the screenplay is solid, albeit a little superficial. GV Prakash Kumar continues his trend of matching the quality of the film with the quality of his music. The track ‘Hey Minnale’ is an earworm, but the rest of the score and soundtrack does not shine through.

Overall, ‘Amaran’ is a straightforward piece of propaganda. A shot in ‘Amaran’ depicts a soldier of the Indian army blocking a closing door with his rifle. On the other side of the door is a Kashmiri child. To appease the child, the soldier sneaks a chocolate bar through the gap in the doorway. The reverse of this tactic is what director Rajkumar Periasamy employs to hook his audience in: the sweetness of the Penelope-Odysseus relationship between Mukund and Indhu hides the intrusion of the weapon of jingoist ideology. 

Krishna's rating: 2.5 stars

___

Official trailer for film below.

FB Likebox

The website encountered an unexpected error. Try again later.