“All I want is one more chance to see my son’s face again, and then I can die in peace.”
– Mother of the Disappeared, Kilinochchi, May 2018
For almost 500 days now, Tamil families of the disappeared across the North-East of Sri Lanka have been continuously protesting roadside, demanding truth and justice for their disappeared loved ones. Through terrible conditions including monsoon rains, record-breaking heat, and insufferable dust, these Tamil families (comprised primarily of women) have bravely sat, struggling to achieve answers and completely disregarded by the Sri Lankan government.
Over 100,000 (mainly Tamil) individuals were disappeared during the armed conflict through a number of horrendous ways, including white-van abductions, round-ups, and surrenders, et primarily by the Sri Lankan state and paramilitary groups. Sri Lanka has the second-highest number of disappearance complaints reported to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances – second only to Iraq.
“I keep hoping he’ll walk through that door,” one amma from Mullaitivu told me earlier this year. “We don’t celebrate anything anymore – how can we when all I think about is how he could be suffering?” another amma from Kilinochchi said to me during Thai Pongal. The disappearance of a loved one destroys the entire family as they suffer every day with the pain of not knowing what happened to their loved ones and whether they’re alive - imagining the worst but hoping for the best.
The brave Tamil women at the forefront of protests across the North-East initiated their protests in February 2017, after growing increasingly frustrated and angry at the lack of meaningful action from the Sri Lankan government. After years going across the country visiting every military camp, every police station, every NGO, many of these women had hoped the “new” regime under President Sirisena elected in 2015 would follow through on their commitments to the Tamil community and provide answers. But two years on, after watching the government pass an ‘Office of Missing Persons Act’ before consultations with communities had finished, and seeing the government’s disregard for families’ voices, they grew sceptical and disappointed and decided to take to the road in protest. On February 19, 2017, families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi took to the road to begin protesting, shortly followed by families in Mullaitivu, Marunthankerny, Trincomalee, and Vavuniya.
On the 100th Day of the protest, after families came together and blocked the A9 (the main highway connecting the South to the North), President Sirisena agreed to a meeting with families’ representatives. On June 12, 2017, the heads of associations of families of the disappeared across the North-East met with President Sirisena and he agreed to meet the demands they put forward, including to: release a list of all those who surrendered to the Sri Lankan state; release a list of all secret detention centres, their status and list of detainees; and release a list of all detainees held under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
President Sirisena re-iterated that he would meet those demands in another encounter in October 2017, but by a third meeting in November 2017 he had grown callous and dismissive, even walking out of a meeting with them early in anger.
The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) which the Sri Lankan government finally set up in March 2018, lacks the trust of these Families of the Disappeared, justifiably so. As they have explained, they believe it is just an “eyewash” for the international community - the latest in a long line of failed and flawed commissions set up by the Sri Lankan state. This is especially due to: (i) the lack of consultation in the OMP Act’s initial drafting and disregard for input from families; (ii) the lack of transparency around the appointment process of OMP commissioners; (iii) the title itself which families find offensive (their loved ones were disappeared, they didn’t go missing); (iv) its dichotomization of truth and justice – the OMP cannot pursue prosecutions and also cannot share its findings with any outside body; and (v) the failure of the government to build their confidence and demonstrate this body will be different from over a dozen prior commissions.
Now, as almost 500 days have passed with families protesting day and night, these women still remain roadside with deteriorating mental and physical health, still struggling to achieve answers, and completely disregarded by the Sri Lankan government. Since the protests have begun, at least 8 protesting women and men have died.
On June 30, 2018, an independent collective of Tamil-Canadian activists including myself, are holding a rally in solidarity with these brave protesting Tamil families of the disappeared in Toronto, as they approach their 500th day of protest. The rally aims to: (1) Raise awareness about the plight of families of the disappeared among the Tamil community and broader Canadian community; (2) Stand in solidarity with families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi and across the North-East who will be marking their 500th day of protest on July 1st; and (3) To increase pressure on the Sri Lankan government to meet families’ demands, in particular, for the release of a list of those who surrendered and detainees, and a list of all past and present secret detention centres.
Sister rallies are also being organized the same weekend in London, Zurich, Berlin, New York and Sydney. We call on all members of the Tamil diaspora community and its allies to join in supporting these incredibly brave Tamil families demands, and ensuring their voices are finally heeded.
“My daughter looked just like you,” a mother from Kilinochchi often told me. Her daughter disappeared after being taken from an IDP camp in Vavuniya – a fate whose connection to my own I cannot ignore, nor, any of us who live in the Tamil diaspora. Let’s ensure these families finally achieve the truth and justice they are long overdue.
Rally Information:
Toronto: June 30, 1PM, Nathan Phillips Square
Zurich: June 30, 5PM, Helvetiaplatz Zürich
London: July 1, 1PM, Downing Street
New York: July 1, 1PM, City Hall Park
Berlin: July 1, 5PM, Brandenburger Tor
Sydney: TBA
More information can be found about the different rallies at our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Solidarity-w-Tamil-Fam-of-Disappeared-Protest-345626469295511/
For inquires and media-related requests please email: [email protected]
*Protest aims to be child-friendly, women-centred and accessible. Please contact us for support.
