Hundreds of people gathered at Sydney Town Hall on May 18 to mark 16 years since Mullivaikkal became a graveyard for over 165,000 Tamil civilians — the peak of the Tamil genocide.
The Tamil Refugee Council (TRC) said: “We came together not just to mourn, but to resist, to remember, and to demand justice.”
Reeta Arulruban, a survivor and eyewitness to the genocide, delivered a heartbreaking account of what she endured in 2009. “Her story is a living testament to the crimes the Sri Lankan state still denies”, the TRC said.
Human rights lawyer Alison Battison spoke about the legal responsibility of states and the urgent need for international mechanisms to hold Sri Lanka accountable.
NSW Senator David Shoebridge said the Greens stand firmly in solidarity with Eelam Tamils and called for justice, protection of refugees and the recognition of genocide.
Kavusiya, a Tamil woman and witness, reminded the rally that the genocide continues not just in memory but through military occupation, land grabs and forced disappearances.
Shovan, from Students for Palestine, highlighted the shared experience of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and state violence from Gaza to Tamil Eelam.
Renuga Inpakumar, spokesperson for the TRC, closed the rally with a call to conscience: “Our people were slaughtered in silence. But today we speak. And we will keep speaking until justice is done. We are not victims; we are a nation rising.”
As the rally ended, kanji, the porridge eaten by Tamils in bunkers during the Mullivaikkal massacre, was shared with the crowd. It was more than food; it was a symbol of survival, memory and defiance.
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