Tamil Nadu CM Vijay

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday expressed solidarity with the global Tamil diaspora on the occasion of Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, pledging his administration’s continued support for their rights.In a social media post on ‘X’, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief wrote: “Let us hold the memories of Mullivaikkal in our hearts. We will always stand by the rights of our Tamil kindred living across the seas.”

May 18 is observed annually by Sri Lankan Tamils worldwide as Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day. On May 18, 2009, the nearly three-decade-long Sri Lankan Civil War came to a bloody conclusion in Mullivaikkal, a small coastal village in Mullaitivu district, following the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.According to United Nations estimates, between 40,000 and 70,000 Tamil civilians lost their lives in the final stages, transforming Mullivaikkal into a universal symbol of wartime atrocities and civilian suffering.