The Tamil community and supporters gathered at the State Library in Naarm/Melbourne on May 17 to commemorate the 17th Mullivaikkal Day, observed annually on May 18.
Mullivaikkal Day is an opportunity for remembrance of all victims of the genocide Sri Lanka carried out against Eelam Tamils, particularly of the tens of thousands, who in May 2009, were lured, trapped and massacred by the Sri Lankan Army in the village of Mullivaikkal, which had been designated as a no-fire zone.
Speakers included Suthakaran Uthyakumari, Yuwal (who MCd the event), Sai Dhiruselvam, Uncle Vasanthan and Socialist Alliance Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton.
Speakers condemned the continuing oppression and discrimination against Eelam Tamils, as well as the occupation of their land by the Sri Lankan state.
Yuwal spoke about the horrors and atrocities committed against Tamil people by the Sri Lankan army.
Bolton highlighted the role of imperialist countries, such as the United States and Australia, in supporting the Tamil genocide and highligted their links with oppressive regimes such as Sri Lanka and Israel.
She also condemned Australia's punitive refugee policies which have caused immense suffering, poverty and even death for people escaping war and persecution.
Solidarity between First Nations, Palestinians and Tamils as victims of genocide, disposession and settler-colonialism was another common theme.
After the speeches, Kanji was served. Kanji is a dish made of rice, salt and water and is symbolic of the desperate conditions Tamils endured as they were being bombed, starved, murdered and displaced while surviving by eating only this dish.
