Mr. Speaker, nearly a decade ago, in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, a brutal civil war lasting nearly 30 years came to a horrific end.
A United Nations report found that 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months of that civil war, mostly as a result of indiscriminate shelling by the Sri Lankan military. Families and communities were ripped apart, and the legacy of that brutality still haunts victims and peace-loving people everywhere. The widespread allegations of atrocities and human rights violations, including war crimes and genocide, devastate us. Ten years later, we recognize and remember the horrors that occurred and renew our vow to find justice and reconciliation for the victims.
What happened in Mullivaikkal must never happen again—not in Sri Lanka, not anywhere. We must do all we can to make sure that is certain.