Preparatory cleaning and maintenance work commenced on Tuesday evening at the Mullivaikkal memorial site ahead of the 17th anniversary remembrance events for the victims of the Mullivaikkal genocide, which are set to be observed across the Tamil homeland on May 18.
Organisers stated that arrangements are underway to hold this year’s remembrance events on a large scale at the Mullivaikkal memorial premises, where tens of thousands of Tamils trapped during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009 were massacred by the Sri Lankan military.
As part of the initial phase of preparations, volunteers gathered at the remembrance site on the opening day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week to carry out shramadana activities, including cleaning and maintenance work across the memorial grounds.
Alongside the voluntary work, Mullivaikkal kanji was distributed at the premises, continuing a symbolic act of remembrance deeply associated with the final days of the genocide.
Mullivaikkal kanji represents the desperate survival conditions endured by Tamil civilians trapped in Mullivaikkal during the final months of the genocide, when many survived on little more than rice boiled in water with salt amid relentless shelling, starvation and mass displacement.
The Mullivaikkal Remembrance Public Coordination Committee called on the public to participate in large numbers and support this year’s commemorative events.
Organisers also urged those preparing Mullivaikkal kanji to preserve its historical significance by making it only in the traditional manner using rice, salt and water, as it was consumed by civilians during the final stages of the war.
They appealed to the public not to add additional ingredients merely to improve taste, stressing the symbolic and emotional significance attached to the kanji within collective Tamil memory.
Meanwhile, organisers requested that commercial activities be avoided within the memorial premises during the commemorative period and invited the public to attend the main remembrance gathering scheduled for May 18.
Speaking at the Mullivaikkal memorial site on the opening day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week, Mullivaikkal Remembrance Public Coordination Committee co-chair Rev. Fr. Leo Armstrong and Velan Swamigal reflected on the importance of commemorating the Mullivaikkal genocide and preserving the memory of those killed.
Commemorations marking May 18 continue to hold profound political and emotional significance for Eelam Tamils across the North-East and the diaspora, where annual remembrance events are held despite years of surveillance, intimidation and restrictions imposed by the Sri Lankan state.
In recent years, remembrance events at Mullivaikkal have drawn thousands of attendees, including families of the disappeared, survivors, clergy, students, civil society activists and Tamil political representatives, all gathering to honour those who were killed.