Black July Remembrance event highlights continued subjugation of Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka
“On the 29th Anniversary of Black July, developments in northern Sri Lanka are not a cause for optimism” said Prof. Craig Scott, NDP Member of Parliament, Co-founder of Sri Lanka Campaign for Justice and a panellist at a forum organized by Canadian Tamil Congress. The forum was organized on June 23 to mark the 29th anniversary of Black July and discuss present day issues around land grab atrocities in Sri Lanka. “The intersection of militarization, Sinhalization, economic cronyism, government repression of dissent, and gender-based violence all add up to a strategy designed to subjugate Tamil speaking communities of the North and East” Prof. Scott added.
When asked about diaspora’s role in addressing the issue of land grab, Prof. Scott said “Land grabs of various kinds cannot be understood outside the above mentioned intersecting forces, and solutions to land grabs must lie at the level of making the world and open-minded Sri Lankans understand the nature of this subjugation strategy so that political resistance might force the Colombo government to change course”.
Panellists include Pon Balarajan, Honourable Speaker of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, and Nakeeran Thangavelu, President of Tamil National Alliance Canada,
In his speech, Mr. Thangavelu eluded to statistics that point to steady changes in ethnic demography in the Tamil areas over time, and the role played by the Sri Lankan State in implementing these systemic changes. He further highlighted the negative impact this continues to have on the number of Tamil political representation in the parliament.
Referring to similar world events such as the Kurds in Iraq, Mr. Pon Balarajan talked about the use of International Protection Mechanism (IPM) by the International Community (IC) to protect the rights of Kurdish people. Mr. Balarajan urged members of the community, despite their organizational affiliation to speak in one voice and ask the IC to implement the same Mechanism on Sri Lanka in order to protect the rights of Tamil speaking people in the island.
“The purpose of this gathering is to remember the lives lost, show our gratitude to Canada for opening its doors when Tamils were fleeing persecution, and also to remember the good hearted Sinhalese who saved lives of their Tamil neighbours during the riots of Black July” said Piragal Thiru who moderated the discussion. “It is also important to reflect on the events that have unfolded over the last 29 years, look at the present day situation and see how we can effectively help to create an environment where people’s human rights are respected and they are allowed to live in peace with dignity” he added.
For more information on Black July please visit www.blackjuly83.com.
