Federation of Global Tamil Organizations (FGTO) consists of nine prominent Tamil Organizations, held the Tamil Excellence Night in Toronto on October 29, 2022

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, November 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Federation of Global Tamil Organizations (FGTO), which currently consists of nine prominent Tamil Organizations, held the Tamil Excellence Night in Toronto on October 29, 2022. The night was filled with Tamil classical dances, music, and community-valued project presentations. The event was a Tamil community empowerment dinner highlighted by a keynote speech by Mr. Rajeev Sreetharan. Since 2020, Rajeev has been working on a legal research project focused on Tamil Eelam sovereignty, Self-Determination, and Tamil civil liberties. Rajeev stated the lack of UN and INGO evidence collection regarding the Tamil genocide in Tamil Eelam has undermined Tamil justice efforts in a systematic manner. The keynote covered potential wrongful acts by the European and Canadian governments due to the “war on terror” doctrine and how Western counter-terrorism policy potentially violated the rule of international law during the Norwegian-facilitated Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka peace process in 2006. He further stated that revisiting the 2006 timeline is necessary to ensure Tamil’s civil liberties and political rights in the future. With well-illustrated diagrams, he explained how Eelam Tamil’s rights of self-determination and their rightful war against occupying Sri Lankan forces were portrayed through a biased lens that now places the “terrorism” label on the Tamil diaspora. Originally initiated from the International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka in 2018, the ongoing legal research project is supported by many Canadian Tamil non-profit organizations as a coalition of Tamil political rights.

Followed by a touching video presentation about the upcoming Tamil Genocide Monument in Toronto, a well-known human rights defender Mr. Anton Philip stated that the monument will stand as a testament that tells the story of the Tamil Genocide to generations to come. In MPP Vijay Thanigasalam’s speech, he stated the importance of the Tamil Genocide Education week (Bill-104) in the education and mental health space and the wider support it got from the community. He also stated that Tamil Genocide recognition has had a long journey since 2009 and the community needs to work together on this for the future. Toronto District School Board Trustee Mr. Neethan Shan stated the resilience of the Tamil Canadians. In 2009, the mainstream media and western narrative tried to convince the protesters to drop the Tamil Eelam flag and stop demanding the Tamil Genocide recognition. However, the Tamil community didn’t give up but rather upheld their rights. He stated that resilience is needed for the Tamil diaspora to get justice in the future.

Prof. Joseph Chandrakanthan briefed the conference titled “Tamil Liberation Struggle for Self-determination: 20 Years After the Ceasefire Agreement (2002- 2022)” held in February 2022. In his speech, he mentioned that academic research about the Tamil diaspora was manipulated by funded groups' to portray negative light on the Tamil diaspora. In his speech, MPP Logan Kanapathi stated that the Tamil diaspora needs a federation since it will fill a gap that exists. He also urged that by increasing collaboration via global summits, the federation can bring the Tamil diaspora together on common ground. Ms. Amirthini Antony, from France, encouraged youth to engage in UN activities by sharing her experience at a recent UNHRC session in Geneva and New York.

City of Markham Councillor Ms. Juanita Nathan and Ottawa Tamil Association president Mr. Rajan Punniyamoorthy presented the prestige Award of excellence in civil liberties & human rights to three long-term Tamil human rights defenders. Mr. Thambu Kanagasabai, Mr. Selvarajah Ramupillai, and Mr. Kumarathasan Rasinham received the awards. In her speech, City of Markham Councillor Ms. Juanita Nathan said the importance of recognizing the Tamil Genocide and lifting the ban is critical for the next generation of Tamil Canadians.

A new pilot project TEHAF (Tamil Eelam Humanitarian Assistance Fund) initiated at the New York Global Tamil Summit on July 1, 2022. Mr. Sathi Nannithamby presented the details and said the fund is to complement a few of the current humanitarian projects in Tamil Eelam that faces continuous genocide. Tamil Diaspora currently provides humanitarian support via several small-scale, group-based projects. TEHAF is designed to complement some of those projects if they apply and require additional funding. The FGTO committee will oversee the funding and provide annual reports. He further said the project has the potential for a large fund if the community is satisfied with the progress.

In addition to the FGTO member organization representatives, representatives from Tamil Rights Group(TRG), Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), University of Carleton Alumni, University of Jaffna Alumni, Mahajana College Old students and community well-wishers and Toronto Tamil business community took part in the great event.

In his speech, Dr. Muraleetharan Murugiah stated that the FGTO is a federation that supports the existing Tamil organizations around the world. He invited registered Tamil organizations that agree with common principles to join the federation in the future. Mr. Quintus Thuraisingam emceed the Tamil Excellence Night with his style. The informative event was filled with colourful classical dances and fine food that entertained the audience in Greater Toronto. The next Tamil Excellence Night is planned to be in the 2nd week of October 2023, the organizers said.

Federation of Global Tamil Organizations, http://fgto.org | (647) 875 7354 | info@fgto.org

Present member organizations: Tamil Genocide Memorial (TGM), Tamil Americans United PAC (TAUPAC), Global Tamil Movement (GTM), Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA), Quebec Tamil Development Association (QTDA), World Tamil Organization (WTO), ABC Tamil Oli, Ilankai Thamil Sangam-Florida, Tamil Canadian Centre for Civic Action (TCCCA)

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Tamil Excellence Night - 2022 in Toronto - Highlights