Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day

May 18 is Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Every year, on this day, we remember the Tamil people who have died since 1948 because of the genocide committed against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state, including the massacre in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, in May 2009.

Since 1948, successive Sri Lankan governments have carried out acts of genocide against Tamils, attacking their culture, language, livelihood, and identity, and threatening their safety and security.

The Tamil community in Canada is one of the largest outside of South-East Asia, and many still have families and friends suffering in their homeland. Tamils in Sri Lanka today report systematic discrimination in areas including government employment, university education, and access to justice.

Over the last 16 years, different levels of government in Canada have taken important steps to recognize the genocide, hold their Sri Lankan government accountable, and fight for justice for Tamil people. This includes motions recognizing the Tamil Genocide, Ontario’s Bill 104 – Tamil Genocide Education Week Act, the House of Commons’ recognizing May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, the Government of Canada's sanctions against four Sri Lankan officials including two former presidents, and Canada's leading role at the United Nations Human Rights Council as a core group member. The City of Brampton has also passed a motion to build a Tamil Genocide Monument.

However, the Tamil people’s struggle to achieve international recognition, international accountability, and remedial justice for the Tamil Genocide and a permanent political solution based on the right to self-determination continues.

Solidarity with our Tamil-Canadian friends and co-workers requires an understanding of their struggle and the empathy to make it our own. We must stand up for justice whenever we see the abuse of human rights, whether it is here at home or anywhere else in the world.

On this May 18, to mark the commemoration of the genocide against the Tamil people, CUPW invites you to light a candle at 8:18 pm, take a photo of your lighted candle, and post it on social media using the hashtags: #may18, #tamilgenocideremembranceday.

In Solidarity,