Statement from Canadian tamil Congress for 42nd Year Black July 83 Remembrance.

Statement from the Canadian Tamil Congress for 42nd Year
Black July 83 Remembrance
We Remember. We Demand Justice.

July 24, 2025 – This week marks 42 years since the horrors of Black July 1983, one of the darkest and most defining chapters in the history of the Tamil people. What began as a state funeral in Colombo erupted into an organized campaign of violence, terror, and destruction that swept across the island. It was not a spontaneous riot, it was an orchestrated, state-sanctioned pogrom targeting Tamils with chilling precision.

For seven harrowing days, Tamil homes were burned. Tamil businesses were looted and destroyed. Tamil prisoners were brutally murdered. Thousands were killed. Hundreds of thousands were displaced. It was an openly expressed act of genocide.

Government aligned mobs moved with voter lists in hand. Security forces stood by or took part. Media was censored. Justice was denied. From Colombo to Kandapola, from Trincomalee to Nuwara Eliya, the message was clear: Tamils were no longer safe in the country of their birth.

Today, we at the Canadian Tamil Congress stand with our community and the survivors of this genocide here in Canada, in Sri Lanka, and around the world.

We remember not only to mourn, but to assert the truth.
We fight not with violence, but with the power of memory, advocacy, and justice.

Black July is not just a Tamil tragedy; it is a warning to the world about the cost of silence and impunity. Forty-two years later, we renew our call for international recognition of the Tamil genocide, and for lasting justice and accountability for the crimes committed.

We carry the pain of the past, but we also carry the strength of a people who refused to be broken.
We honour the dead by demanding dignity for the living.

We remember. We Demand Justice. We will never forget.