Diaspora Tamil students mark Sivakumaran Day

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 June 2008, 12:03 GMT]
The Tamil Students' Uprising in Sri Lanka, originating in the late 1920s and early 30s against the Donoughmore Constitution, remained a peaceful struggle even in 1970 when the Tamil Students League entered into the scene. But, the 1972 Constitution inevitably compelled the Tamil youth to get into armed struggle and Sivakumaran was the pioneer marking this transition and setting its basic attributes such as sacrificing one's life by consuming cyanide, said Ki. Pi. Aravinthan, a close associate of Sivakumaran, while addressing an event held for the memory of Sivakumaran at Rohr in the district of Aarau in Switzerland on Saturday.



Sivakumaran was inspired by the caste struggles of mid 1960s to conceive armed struggle. Those were also the days (1968), when, epicentred in France, the global youth revolted against Capitalism, Imperialism and the American involvement in Vietnam, Mr. Aravinthan further said.

Tamil Youth Organisation remembered Sivakumaran, the pioneer of Tamil armed movement, marking the day of his demise on 05 June, 1974, as Tamil Students' Day of Uprising, in several countries worldwide.

The Day was remembered in grand scale, marked by cultural programs and students competitions in London, in which two local Members of Parliament, Lee Scott (MP for Ilford North) and Mike Gapes (MP for Ilford South), were guests to the 34th remembrance day of Pon. Sivakumaran.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa district parliamentarian, S. Jeyanandamoorthy, was a special guest for the event held at Selva Vinayagar temple in East London by Tamil Youth Organisation North East London (TYO – NE). Chief guest for the event was Pulavar Sivanathan.

According to a press release issued by the TYO - NE, Mr. Lee Scott pledged that he would continue to work for peace and harmony in Sri Lanka, so that people could live in dignity. He then went on to say the atrocities that take place in Sri Lanka cannot continue. Mike Gapes had suggested that Tamils should speak out against injustice and the appalling human right abuses that take place in Sri Lanka, and concluded that members of the Tamil community should represent in the main stream political activities in the United Kingdom.

Football matches were held in Toronto in Canada and in Swtizerland. In Norway, a short film was released in the event held in Oslo. Two dramas were also staged at the memorial event conducted by the Tamil Youth Organisation, in which artist Puhalenthi from Tamil Nadu participated as the chief guest.