National Council of Canadian Tamils - NCCT

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Public Library—an act of Tamil Genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state with the intent to erase the Eelam Tamil people's collective identity and destroy the attributes of the Eelam Tamil nation.

Beginning on the night of May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library was deliberately set ablaze by state-sponsored Sinhala mobs with the support and involvement of Sri Lankan state security forces.

More than 97,000 irreplaceable Tamil manuscripts, books, and historical records representing centuries of Tamil knowledge, culture, history, and heritage were destroyed.

As we commemorate this act of Tamil Genocide, we reflect on the ongoing genocide being committed against the Tamil people in the island of Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Canadian community came together on May 18, 2026 to commemorate and memorialize Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The second event took place at Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough where thousands of Tamil Canadians gathered to honor and remember all Tamil lives lost since 1948 due to the genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state. This includes the genocide that occurred during the height of the Tamil Genocide in Mullivaikal, Sri Lanka, in May 2009.



📸: .lenz

The Tamil Canadian community came together on May 18, 2026 to commemorate and memorialize Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The first event took place at the Tamil Genocide Monument located in Chinguacousy Park in Brampton where thousands of Tamil Canadians gathered to honor and remember all Tamil lives lost since 1948 due to the genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state. This includes the genocide that occurred during the height of the Tamil Genocide in Mullivaikal, Sri Lanka, in May 2009.



📸: .lenz