Tamil Youth Organization Canada hosted an educational conference, for the closing of Tamil Rights Week 2014. This conference was about the ongoing Eezham Tamil Genocide in TamilEelam and as youth what steps should be taken to progress forward in the recognizing the political aspirations of Eelam Tamils. Representatives from Tamil Student Associations from High schools and University/Colleges in Canada participated in this conference.
Naaventhan Thambirajah from Tamil Youth Organization-Canada presented the history of the state genocidal oppression and the necessity for the evolution of the resistance movement.
Following the history presentation, Dr.Denis Halliday, Former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and a Laureate of the Gandhi International Peace Award, spoke about the necessity for the Tamil Youth to lobby state actors to use the word Genocide, instead of playing down the reality of the situation.
After Dr. Denis Halliday, TYO member Yaarly Thambirajah presented about the crucial role social media played in educating people about the Tamil Struggle. She touched how much social media interconnects people and the possibilities of a strong unified social media campaigns that could be successfully executed if social media resources were used efficiently.
Lavaniya Rajah spoke about the ongoing structural genocide in the post 2009 scenario. She pointed out that the current military occupation and encouragement of Sinhala settlements has completely destroyed the livelihood of the Tamils in Tamileelam. She also emphasized that more than 60% of the Sri Lankan armed forces are present in the North which the Sri Lankan government is refusing to remove since the post 2009 era.
The event concluded with Thushitha Kobikrishna, who facilitated a discussion on the crucial role Tamil Youths played in the post 2009 era. Students discussed the active role students need to take individually and collectively as organizations.
TYO member Shankari Srithayakumar stated, “As Eelam Tamil youth, we will never sacrifice or compromise our homeland, identity, roots, and history for anything or anyone. We will unite to end this horrific genocide against the Eezham tamils in TamilEelam, and will obtain a sovereign nation, our homeland TamilEelam. It is time that the voices of the youth are heard for the justice of our people.”
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