Written by:
Eelaththu Nilavan
Sixteen years have passed since the official end of the Sri Lankan civil war, yet for the Tamil people, the realities of injustice remain unchanged. As a community denied its basic rights and dignity, Tamils continue to seek justice. Tamil Eelam is not a forgotten chapter of the past; it persists as a living human rights issue and a litmus test for international legal and moral integrity. Part 10 of this historical documentation explores the ongoing global efforts to seek accountability for the genocide committed against the Tamil people.
✦. International Law and the Right to Justice
Genocide is among the gravest crimes recognized under international law, especially within the framework of the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, any act intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group constitutes genocide. The mass atrocities committed against the Tamil population in 2009—especially in the final days at Mullivaikkal—fall within this definition, supported by thousands of documents, witness testimonies, and photographic evidence.
Despite repeated documentation by the UN, the European Union, and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), effective legal action has remained out of reach. This failure exemplifies the global impunity gap that Eelam Tamils continue to confront in their search for justice.
✦. Changing Geopolitics and the Shifting Opportunities for Justice
China’s strategic backing of Sri Lanka, coupled with India’s regional priorities and complex domestic politics, has consistently blocked meaningful international interventions. Nevertheless, a growing shift is observable. Parliamentary resolutions passed in countries like Canada, the UK, and parts of the US have recognized or acknowledged the genocide against Tamils, pushing the debate forward.
Tamil advocates and legal experts are now pursuing new paths through digital archiving, human rights litigation, and transitional justice mechanisms. The evolving legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction—which allows states to prosecute individuals accused of grave crimes regardless of where they occurred—opens new possibilities for holding Sri Lankan officials accountable.
✦. Eelam Tamils’ Moral Resistance: Memory and Justice
Memorial events like Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (May 18), Tamil-led symposiums, university campaigns, and academic documentation continue to serve as living resistance. These actions are not mere commemorations—they are direct challenges to impunity and attempts to awaken a global conscience.
The Tamil Eelam struggle has moved beyond weapons. It now exists in the form of truth-seeking, justice-promoting resistance. Each candle lit in memory, each testimony recorded, is a declaration that “We do not forget. Without justice, there can be no peace.”
✦. When History Is Being Written in Real-Time
Young Tamils across the world are now researchers, legal interns, analysts, and organizers. They are collecting evidence, presenting petitions, and pushing the genocide conversation forward in international forums. Their work is planting the seeds of tomorrow’s justice—documenting truth in a world too often shaped by the victors’ version of history.
Each action taken today—every oral history preserved, every political resolution proposed—is a line in the next chapter of Tamil Eelam’s historical narrative. These voices cannot be silenced forever.
✦. Conclusion:
Justice may be delayed, but it cannot be denied. The memories of the Tamil people, the sacred memories of the Eelam Tamils, international law, and the power of the people—when these unite and act together, one day Mullivaikkal will speak loudly. The day will soon come when the world acknowledges it as genocide. On that day, the voice for justice in Tamil Eelam will no longer echo alone.
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Coming Next: Part 11 – “The United Nations, the OISL Report, and the Current State of International Justice for Tamils”
『 Written by
Eelaththu Nilavan 』
21/07/2025
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Amizhthu’s editorial stance.
A Historical Documentation. – Eelaththu Nilavan.
PART – 1
PART – 2
PART – 3
PART – 4
PART – 5
PART – 6
PART – 7
PART – 8
PART – 9
