Story of a Survivor: Testimony of the atrocities of the final stages of the war

Hello everyone.

When we speak of the month of May, it is something that stirs the hearts of all Tamils, it is a wave that continues to surge, the Mullivaikkal Genocide. We must deeply understand the Mullivaikkal Genocide, It is a pressing need for us to learn about it deeply, Each and every Tamil continues to live through these days with this in their hearts.

In our Vanni vast lands, from Jaffna, from Mannar to Vavuniya, more than 500,000 of our relatives, displaced, from Madhu to Palai to Vavuniya, they were living in peace and security.

In the year 2009, through military actions, the Sri Lankan government drove out all of our people, they pursued and harassed them relentlessly. for the cause of our Eelam liberation, alongside those who sacrificed their lives, and those who dedicated themselves to the cause, we all must march for a future of freedom. forcing them and their families to move towards Mullivaikkal. over half a million people were gathered in Mullivaikkal.

During this time, the Sri Lankan Government declared certain areas as 'No-Fire Zones. for instance, Udaiyaarkaddu was announced as one such safe zone. But when our people moved into these zones, they were deliberately targeted and attacked by the government forces. thousands of our loved ones were massacred there.

"the Sri Lankan Government’s aerial bombings, the Sri Lankan Government’s relentless artillery shelling and the barrels of the Government’s guns forced our people to die in clusters, one group after another this was the brutal reality unfolding in 2009. In this way, into a narrow strip of land in Mullivaikkal nearly 450,000 people were gathered there together There, they faced many forms of suffering and endured countless atrocities.

During that period in the year 2009 according to a survey conducted by a senior government official nearly 450,000 people In 2009 around the January month period were surviving in that area he requested to send the needed food supplies to them he made this appeal to the Sri Lankan Government.  There is historical evidence to support this.

Prior to this, the Sri Lankan Government requested International Organisations and International Humanitarian Agencies to leave our vast Vanni region.  All organisations all international agencies left the Vanni region abandoning our people and withdrawing from the area.

So, in a way that left no witnesses The intention to carry out this Genocide Was executed decisively by the Sri Lankan Government. During that period, the Sri Lankan Government claimed that only 75,000 people remained in the Vanni region. they planned this in a calculated manner with the goal of wiping out this ethnic group. We can even refer to this as an “Intensive Genocide.”

It was a deliberate act. because their plan was for only 75,000 people to survive and for the rest of our people, in great numbers to be eliminated — that was their true intent. We continue to meet many of our relatives even today we continue to reconnect My own family — my mother, my siblings too — are survivors of the Mullivaikkal tragedy. We too have lost many of our loved ones.

They tell us that over hundreds of thousands of people were crammed into a narrow strip of land. They were trapped inside that confined Mullivaikkal area. They had no access to any food; they struggled for food and had no medical facilities. They had no access to any food; they struggled for food and had no medical facilities. The Sri Lankan Government used both food and medicine as weapons.

Hospitals were deliberately targeted by the Sri Lankan Government. In the complete absence of basic facilities, Without even proper shelter to live in, Our people endured immense suffering.

In our Tamil homeland, often referred to as the “Romeo” of Sri Lanka, Our Mannar’s bishop — a respected leader — in his first-hand account stated, that over 150,000 people were massacred in Mullivaikkal.

From time to time, genocidal acts were carried out in the Tamil homeland, but the peak of this genocide happened in May 2009 — and that is the truth.

At the end of that war, Our priest, Rev. Fr. Francis Joseph, along with the remaining people, Nearly over a hundred individuals, Surrendered to the military. In the presence of their family members, The army took them away in buses and military vehicles.

The relatives of those who went with the priest — Their spouses, mothers, fathers — all are living eyewitnesses to this. Yet, the Sri Lankan Government continues to claim: that no such incident ever took place.

We have approached the Sri Lankan judicial system, and we have filed legal cases. In those proceedings, all those involved — even top officials — say: including military commanders — they all testify that “Such an incident never happened in Vattuvaagal, Sri Lanka.” so in this country where justice is consistently denied, How can we ever seek justice for ourselves? Will justice ever be delivered to us in this land called Sri Lanka?

Therefore, as Tamils, we, this May month, We must commemorate the peak of our Genocide, And transform it into a part of our culture. We must pass this on to our children and to the future generations. We must carry forward the highest level of suffering our people endured, through the generations. This should not only be a remembrance, but it must be a call for our liberation, It must stand as a rallying cry for freedom.

We were massacred, But once again, we have risen and are achieving progress. However, even today, within our land, Genocide continues to be systematically carried out, The era of massive human massacres, The Sri Lankan Government used its military forces to round us up, they used internationally banned weapons, they used prohibited bombs.

Since 2009, even now, in our homeland, Genocide continues to take place in a systematic manner. We are at a time when we must think as one nation, we are in a situation where we need to make the world aware of the suffering we have endured. What we endured was genocide, Therefore, we must live as a nation, with our rights, We must live with our rights, This is our singular, united desire, It is our collective plea, Therefore, no matter where we live in this world, or where we are forced to live, We must tell those people in those lands, The people of those nations, The injustices that were inflicted upon us, The suffering that was caused to us and our people, We must inform them about this Genocide, Through this, we must call for an international inquiry to expose it.

We deeply believe that the International Criminal Court is where we will find relief for this, We firmly believe in this. Because within Sri Lanka's justice system, We will never receive any justice. It remains out of our reach. It is part of our painful history. So, dear friends, Let us put aside the differences among us, Let us break down the divisions between us, And come together as one nation, one people, On this May, the Month of the Genocide in 2009, Let us take an oath.

For the liberation of our people, For the freedom of our land, We must unite in solidarity, We must march forward as one unified force, We must walk this path. For this, we have one fundamental reason: That one reason is: That in 2009, In the bloodshed of our loved ones, And in the sacrifice of our people, After we lost them, Our land must achieve liberation, Our future generations must live in freedom, Our cultures must be preserved and protected, With that goal, we must march together as one. In this pursuit for justice for genocide, we must all unite, hand in hand, And in this time of struggle, we must remain steadfast, I share this with you today, with a heavy heart, And teary eyes, I share these words with you.

Thank you.