Global Simulcasting of Mullivaikkaal Remembrance on May 18 2020

May 08 2020

The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF), the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), the Irish Tamil Forum (ITF), the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice (SGPJ-South Africa) and the United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG) will be hosting a virtual joint worldwide May 18 – Mullivaikkaal Tamil Remembrance Day on Monday, May 18th 2020, to commemorate the 11th year anniversary of the loss of tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians, Maveerar and Tamil national heroes in Mullivaikkaal, Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war.

The 2-hour live event will start promptly at 5 PM for UK/Ireland, 12 Noon Eastern Standard time for US and Canada, and 2:00 AM (19th) Sydney, Australia. Due to time differences, some of the Australian remembrance day event will be a recording of their live event (Monday 7PM to 8 PM AEST) earlier on that day.

This worldwide event will start with a moment of silence conveyed online from Australia, UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, USA and other parts of the world, to pay tribute to the innocent lives lost. Following this, the worldwide participants will lay flowers and light candles to pay respect to those who lost their lives in various phases of the Tamil Genocide, including the mass atrocity crimes committed by Sri Lanka state forces in the #no_fire_zones leading to Mullivaikkaal. We also lend our support to the Global Campaign: “Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day,” (details to follow) which calls for lighting of candles at 18:18 on May 18 in remembrance of the lives lost.

Following the paying of respect, the leaders of ATC, BTF, CTC, ITF, SGPJ-SA and USTAG will speak with special emphasis on the continuing thrust for justice and accountability for atrocity crimes perpetrated towards the end of the war, and the expectations from the victimized Tamil community for stronger actions by the governments around the world towards the path of finding truth and restorative justice to the victims.

Tamil devotional songs and dances will be featured from various countries. Live or video messages will also be shared by many elected officials and prominent human rights defenders from key countries.

The technology link that will allow thousands of global Tamil diaspora participants to join the proceedings will be emailed closer to the event. Interested participants are invited to send their requests for links to the respective country organizations listed at the end.

Contact details follows:

Mr. M. Manokaran

Chairman – Australian Tamil Congress

T: +61 300 660 629

Email: Mano_manics@hotmail.com

Website: www.australiantamilcongress.com/en/

Twitter: @austamilcongres

Mr. V. Ravi Kumar

General Secretary – British Tamils Forum

T: +44 (0) 7412 435697

Email: news@britishtamilsforum.org

Website: www.britishtamilsforum.org