Archive for the ‘Speak Out’ Category


Thangachi’s Corner: Back Home

By Editor - March 31st, 2015

Thangachi's Corner: Back Home

The trouble was, I was a child the last time I’d visited, and was very much oblivious of who we’d left behind on the mango-shaped island. I was three by the time my feet hit Canadian soil, and had only been back once as a child, when meeting relatives instead of climbing trees was more painful than taking out a splinter. I had kept from twelve years ago mere wisps of faded memory, but was finally ready to solidify it now. Grown and more mature, family meant more to me than it ever had.



Physician-assisted suicide, a necessity in Canada?

By Editor - March 20th, 2015

Physician-assisted suicide, a necessity in Canada?

The Canadian Supreme Court recently decided to revisit a past legislation that will make doctor assisted suicide legal for specific circumstances such as terminal illness. This is a huge step forward after the famous denial of Sue Rodriguez, a patient suffering from ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 1993. A court decided what Mrs. Rodriguez should do with her life, and the outcome was that law controls an individual’s personal choice to die. As a society, if we prevent people from deciding their own time of death, we prolong ignorance, suffering and only attribute to our own selfishness.



Remembering Thangathurai’s Speech from the Courthouse Dock

By Editor - March 1st, 2015

Remembering Thangathurai's Speech from the Courthouse Dock

March 1, 2015 marks the 32nd anniversary of the impassioned speech made by Nadarajah Thangathurai from the dock of a courthouse. Thangathurai was arrested in 1982, along with Selvarajah Yogachandran, a.k.a. Kuttimani – both remain important figures in the struggle for Tamil Eelam.

Thangathurai and Kuttimani were among the second batch of Tamil youth who were tried under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Modelled after Apartheid South Africa’s Terrorism Act and used by the Apartheid Government to arrest Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid militants and activists, the PTA was brought into law by President Jayewardene, with the intention to subdue the strengthening Tamil resistance movement. The PTA still remains in existence today and is now used to arrest anyone who dares to speak out against Sri Lankan state oppression.



Enforced Disappearances of Tamils – “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds”

By Editor - February 21st, 2015

Enforced Disappearances of Tamils - “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds”

An enforced disappearance is defined as: “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State”iii. Sri Lanka has the second highest number of enforced disappearances in the world – the first being Iraq.

The Sri Lankan state uses a policy of enforced disappearances against those who are critical of its genocide on the Eelam Tamil population. Sri Lankan state agents, such as the police and army, use a broad network of white vans and secret detention centres to abduct Tamils from their homes, on the street, in hospitals or checkpoints. Tamil journalists, activists and students are often targeted. Enforced disappearances are used as a way to send a message to the wider Tamil community, a warning to anyone who may have been considering speaking out against the state’s oppression.



A Critical Analysis – Nation, Homeland, and Self-determination

By Editor - February 15th, 2015

A Critical Analysis - Nation, Homeland, and Self-determination

The liberation struggle of Tamil Eelam focuses on three basic fundamental principles: nation, homeland and self-determination. In layman’s term: Nation identifies the Eelam Tamil people as a distinct ethnic group on the island, homeland refers to the physical space occupied by the Eelam Tamil population for centuries and self-determination refers to the political autonomy that is vested within the people. Therefore, these words are not something that we ask ownership to but it’s naturally inherent to the Eelam Tamil struggle. To destroy the liberation movement, the Sri Lankan government has to effectively dismantle these three principles from history, present and ensure it never permeates into the future. The founding fathers of Sri Lanka were clever when they built the Sri Lankan state because they made these concepts exclusive to Sri Lankans by basing the state on chauvinist Sinhala-Buddhist ideology. To understand the fundamental principles, we also need to understand how the Sri Lankan state is structured to preserve Sinhala ideology while destroying the inherent principles of the Eelam struggle.



News Release: CTYA Welcomes NPC Resolution

By Editor - February 12th, 2015

News Release: CTYA Welcomes NPC Resolution

On February 10th, 2015, the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), with overwhelming support, passed a resolution calling for an international investigation into the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan Government against Eelam Tamils. The Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance (CTYA) welcomes this resolution as a meaningful move towards justice and the freedom of the Eelam Tamil Nation.



But…you don’t look Tamil!

By Editor - January 30th, 2015

But...you don't look Tamil!

When you tell me “you’re pretty for a dark skin girl,” you’re telling me that you are saddened by the bronze pigmentation that automatically depreciates my features. You’re telling me the forms of structural violence embedded within Eurocentric standards of beauty are justified every time my reflection hits a mirror. You’re telling me that I am an exception to your view of darker skinned girls to be despicably unattractive. You’re telling me that the already existing inferiority complex that I’ve developed from such a young age is completely valid. You’re telling me that this statement shouldn’t make me feel uncomfortable and that in fact, you’re complimenting me regardless of the mistake in the colour of my skin.



CYSA Senior Finalist Raveena Raveendran

By Editor - January 25th, 2015

CYSA Senior Finalist Raveena Raveendran

Need a little inspiration for an upcoming speech or presentation? Check out Grade 12 student Ravenna Raveendran’s speech as a senior finalist at the Canadian Youth Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) 2014 competition!



Canadian Sports: The source of unity in a melting pot nation

By Editor - January 21st, 2015

Canadian Sports: The source of unity in a melting pot nation

Equality is the goal for a diverse nation such as Canada, however religious, political and cultural differences are undoubtedly present. Unity is achieved when individuals are able to put such differences aside in order to merge for the purpose of a mutual interest. This is the effect that sports has on Canada; facilitating unity and establishing a common ground upon which sports fans can join to support their nation’s teams. The love for sports allows for the emergence of togetherness amongst Canadians.



Sri Lankan Elections 101

By Editor - January 16th, 2015

Sri Lankan Elections 101

The aftermath of the Sri Lankan election tends to be a hot button topic for the Tamil Diaspora. The surprise candidate Maithripala Sirisena won the elections with the help of the ethnic Tamil votes. Moreover, the TNA endorsed Sirisena and there are several myths around the deluded support they provide. Many feel that it’s a positive change for the Eelam Tamils: a bleak light of hope towards a permanent political solution. Some also say that regardless of whether its Rajapaksa or Sirisena, nothing is changing for the Eelam Tamils. However, the result of the election has revealed many truths: the political influence of the Eelam Tamil community in the north and the east, the relevance of Sri Lanka to the west and the next phase of the Eelam Tamil Genocide.