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Marking 15 years since the end of the armed conflict, Tamil Families of the forcibly Disappeared staged a protest in Mannar demanding an international investigation to shed light on the fate of the thousands forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan military.
The Mannar's Association of the Relatives of the Forcibly Disappeared held a protest today in front of the Mannar District Secretariat under the leadership of Manuel Udaya Chandra, the president of the assocation.
“We have been fighting for 15 years in search of our missing family members. The government has not given us a solution. This government is acting in a manner that is further aggravating the situation causing Tamils to become irate,” demonstrators told reporters. “We ask that the international community intervene to lead an investigation into the enforced disappearances.”
The demonstrators further stated:
“We have no faith in the Sri Lankan courts, we demand an international investigation. We have no faith in Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, or Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It’s been 15 years, if they couldn't do anything in this period, they will never do anything even after coming into power.”
These protests follow the arrest of Tamil activists for distributing kanji during Mullivaikkal memorials. The Mannar's Association of the Relatives of the Forcibly Disappeared held a memorial to commemorate Mullivaikkal where they distrbuted kaji. Kanji is often served at these memorials as a reminder of the only food source Tamils had during the last phase of the armed conflict when Sri Lanka’s security forces shelled and bombed the government-declared No Fire Zone.
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