Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay marked Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day with a message of solidarity to the global Tamil diaspora on Monday, pledging continued support for what he described as the rights of Tamils living across the seas, Newswire reported.
Posting on X in his capacity as leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the actor-turned-politician said: “Let us hold the memories of Mullivaikkal in our hearts. We will always stand by the rights of our Tamil kindred living across the seas.” Remembrance events were being held in several countries on the same day, the report noted.
May 18 is observed annually by Sri Lankan Tamils worldwide as Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, marking the lives lost during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war on the banks of the Nandikadal lagoon in May 2009. The same anniversary is observed by the Sri Lankan state a day later as National Victory Day, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will lead at Battaramulla on May 19 — a symmetry that has historically produced sharply opposed framings inside and outside the country.
Vijay’s statement lands the same day Amnesty International renewed its call for accountability over the 2009 events, and as friction over the symbolic ownership of the anniversary deepens inside Sri Lanka, with Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka publicly criticising politicians “exploiting” the victory for political gain and police taking action against a group led by Wimal Weerawansa at the National War Hero’s Monument.
As Chief Minister, Vijay represents the largest single Tamil political constituency outside Sri Lanka and a recurring voice in Indian diplomacy on Sri Lankan Tamil affairs, alongside parallel Mullivaikkal commemorations long led by Tamil Nadu civil society groups.
Source: Newswire — Tamil Nadu CM Vijay marks Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day.
