Rajani Thiranagama Commemoration, 20-21 September 2014 in Jaffna
Dr. Rajani Thiranagama,
a prominent human rights activist and author, a medical doctor, and
head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Jaffna, was
assassinated near her home in 1989 at the age of thirty-five. Her death
was an immense tragedy for the community and was symbolic of a climate
of terror and human disregard that ultimately left hundreds of thousands
dead throughout the country. Rajani’s death represented a moral crisis
within the community, and a crisis of governance and education that
continues to mar our future.
A Tamil from northern Sri Lanka, she married a Sinhala political activist
from the south, and despite being aware of the dangerous consequences
of speaking out, chose to remain in the north with her people. She was
one of the founding members of the renowned human rights group UTHR-J
(University Teachers for Human Rights Jaffna) and the co-author of their
book The Broken Palmyrah, which exposed the atrocities committed
by all parties to the conflict, including the Sri Lankan armed forces,
the Indian Peace keeping Force and armed groups such as the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other militant movements. Rajani was
also at the forefront of establishing Poorani, a home for women in
Jaffna, who were rendered destitute by the threatening and constraining
conditions of war in the north of Sri Lanka. As a feminist and social
activist, Rajani strove hard to create spaces for women’s collective
action. After Rajani’s assassination, two of her co-authors, Rajan Hoole
and Kopalasingam Sritharan, and fellow members of the UTHR-J, have
continued to report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, inspired
by Rajani’s memory and determination. Forced to remain underground
since Rajani’s death, UTHR-J are one of the few non-partisan voices in
Sri Lanka. In 2007 they were awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Human
Rights Award.
Democratic societies, democratic practices, an equal and just world!
Rajani remains an inspiration and symbol of hope to many in Sri
Lanka who desire a just peace with democracy and dignity for all. We
hope to explore spaces for a democratic practice in which people are
able to participate. The post- war period offers us space to focus on
the needs, aspirations and self-expression of people who have been
dispossessed during the long period of war and in the current context of
development and post-war reconstruction. We wish to honour Rajani’s memory with a series of events on the 20th and 21st
of September. We earnestly request your presence at these events as
both a show of solidarity with the people of Jaffna and all those
gathered in the name of democracy at this crucial juncture of our shared
history.
Solidarity for peace, democracy and the marginalized!
Support political and social practices for a new society!
Proposed events
- 20th September, 9:30am – Rajani Thiranagama Commemoration Meeting at the Medical Faculty, University of Jaffna.
- 20th September, 2pm – A procession for peace, democracy and social justice. (Starting at the Medical Faculty, University of Jaffna and ending at Veerasingham Hall with a short meeting.)
- 21st September, 9am – A seminar on “A more just and democratic society”, at Kailasapathy Hall, University of Jaffna.
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