27 November marks Martyrs Day -the Maveerar Naal. Maveerar Naal is a Tamil National Memory Day. Every year, November is an emotional time for Eelam Tamils and the supporters of Eelam Tamil struggle for sovereignty from Sri Lanka.  On this day, worldwide, Tamils commemorate the sacrifices of Eelam Tamil warriors, freedom fighters -men, women and children who laid down their lives and became martyr-heroes-Mareevar. A renowned accountant by profession author Nimal Vinayagamoorthy, who is a member of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) since its inception and seeks a peaceful political solution to the Tamil Right to Self Determination shares his feelings on the eve of the Martyrs Day.

THE FIRST MAVEERAR NAAL CEREMONY WAS HELD ON 27 NOVEMBER 1989, honouring thousands of Eelam soldiers who died fighting in the Eelam-Sri Lanka war. The date coincides with the martyrdom of Tamil Eelam hero Lt. Shankar Sathiyanathan, in 1982. This day is commemorated all over the world except in Sri Lanka as there the Eelam Tamils are not allowed by the government of Sri Lanka to reminisce their dead ones.

Left with no democratic option to win their civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights, the Eelam Tamil fighters formed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to wage an armed struggle against the brutalities of successive Sinhala regimes in Sri Lanka. While the war has ended, the trauma and pain of the affected families and those who fled by choice or by circumstance continues. The massive tragedy continues to haunt the Eelam Tamil supporters.

In this struggle, thousands of young Tamil women and men laid down their lives to escape the clutches of the oppressive Sinhala regimes and re-establish the lost homeland of the Tamils. The Maveerar Naal is a holy day for Eelam Tamils worldwide. Since 2009, even Tamils in India have been commemorating this very special day.

Tamils have a very emotional and spiritual attachment to this day. It is observing a collective memory. It is a day to collectively vent out the emotions of the community. Families in the north and east all had at least someone sacrifice their sacred lives for the freedom of Eelam Tamils.

This day helps promote the Tamil community’s social recovery from the violent conflict and bring to light the injustices and discrimination the Maaveerar and us as a population have been through. It is a public day and is observed at a public place to grieve someone very dear.

Memorialization is extremely important in order to keep memories alive, to mark the highest sacrifices made by our women and men, and to refresh and recommit ourselves to continue the struggle for transitional justice and accountability which is being constantly undermined by national and international bodies.

Memorialization upsets those who perpetrated war crimes and genocide. It is well-nigh impossible for Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka to be part of the public memorialization processes and functions.

Struggling for one’s legitimate rights does not make one a terrorist.

Whether the Sinhalese and the world like it or not, those who fought and were killed in the conflict, fought the war to seek equality, justice and restore Tamil pride, which had been crushed and colonized by the Sinhalese peoples and their leaders subsequent to the British decolonization in 1948. The Maveerar fought for their people’s cause, hence they are heroes.

The terrorism label given to the LTTE group of Tamil freedom fighters who fought for the peace and freedom of all Tamils in Sri Lanka is a clear depiction of the Sri Lankan government’s effort to diminish the Tamil struggle and deny the rights of the Tamil population, forcing them to the status of a permanent minority in their own land. This terrorism label continues to deny any opportunities for the Tamil struggle today to seek the help of international governing bodies.

Respecting the dead is revered in every culture. Yet, the Sri Lankan state does not have this and treats even the dead as their enemies and brands their families ‘terrorist families’. All our war heroes cemeteries which once stood up with pride on November 27, have been razed to the ground and converted as military playgrounds or areas under army occupation. The mothers, wives, sisters and relatives of our heroes cannot even visit the places where our heroes are buried.

Struggling for one’s legitimate rights does not make one a terrorist. As the saying goes, one man’s goose is another man’s gander. A person who is vocal for his people’s rights may be designated as a ‘terrorist’ by a country, but for his people, he is a ‘hero’ fighting for the common cause of people. Across the world -from Canada to Europe to Australia, Eelam Tamils have been observing the Maveerar Naal in a peaceful manner.

Struggling for one’s legitimate rights does not make one a terrorist.

Maveerar Naal is not a glorification of war or propaganda to restart an armed conflict, but a day of collective prayer and grieving for our community and our beloved dead ones. The Rajapaksa brothers take pride in proclaiming that they have eliminated LTTE from the face of the earth. Then, why are they still denying the Tamils to observe November 27 as a day of respect to their dead heroes? What is the state scared of? Whom are they scared of?

Maveerar Naal is not a glorification of war or propaganda to restart an armed conflict, but a day of collective prayer and grieving for our community and our beloved dead ones.

The Eelam martyrs inspire us to continue our fight for Tamils right to self-determination sans weapons, in a peaceful democratic manner. Memorialization will help victim families to recall the horrors of war and provide the physical, emotional and psychological space for solace. The denial of this by the Sri Lankan government is a denial of justice.

With great pride and honour, I salute our freedom fighters, our Maveerar who relentlessly fought in the battlefields till the end moment and dedicated their lives to their goal to secure the freedom of all Eelam Tamils.

With great pride and honour, I salute our freedom fighters, our Maveerar who relentlessly fought in the battlefields till the end moment and dedicated their lives to their goal to secure the freedom of all Eelam Tamils.

Honouring the fallen lives of our Maveerar, let us commemorate their unimaginable sacrifices and continue the Maveerar’s ultimate dream of securing freedom and the Tamil’s right to decide their political destiny.

A qualified and highly respected Certified General Accountant, based in Ontario, Nimal Vinayagamoorthy is a member of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) since inception.