Don't let the murder
of 17 aid workers go unpunished
Ceremonies slideshow
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To pay homage to our collaborators, show our support for the victims’ families and maintain mobilization so that this crime is not forgotten, Action contre la Faim regularly organizes ceremonies in Sri Lanka, at the association’s HQ and on all its missions.
These ceremonies also aim to remind everyone that this unprecedented drama should not be unpunished.
Friday 11 August 2006
On Friday 11 August, the teams of Action contre la Faim and other NGOs present went to the beach of Trincomalee for a ceremony in honour of the victims of the Muttur massacre. This mourning ceremony was held in the presence of Florence Daunis (ex Director of Human Resources) and Benoît Miribel (ex Director General of the association).
A ceremony was organized at the same time at the association’s HQ and on the different bases of the association in Sri Lanka at Jaffna and Batticaloa. A minute’s silence was observed at HQ and on all the missions and bases of Action contre la Faim around the world.
1 month and 3 months after : 6 September and 6 November 2006
In keeping with the Sri Lankan tradition, a ceremony in memory of the victims was organized on 6 November in Colombo in the presence of members of Action contre la Faim, representatives of the civil society, the United Nations and local and international NGOs working in Sri Lanka.
At the same time, Action contre la Faim requested that at 17h00 (local time) a minute’s silence be observed by all its members in the 40 countries where the association is active, as well as the humanitarian community, the United Nations…
6 months later : 6 February 2007
François Danel, new Director General of ACF, went to Batticaloa, the association’s operational base in eastern Sri Lanka, to pay homage to the victims and show Action contre la Faim’s support for the victims’ families.
1 year later : 6 August 2007
In keeping with Sri Lankan tradition, where families meet after one year to commemorate death, several ceremonies in memory of the victims were organized on 6 August. Among other ceremonies, some took place in Colombo, Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the presence of the victims’ families, members of Action contre la Faim, representatives of the civil society, the United Nations and local and international NGOs working in Sri Lanka. Several speeches describing the 17 victims and their commitment to ACF in Muthur were read and a minute’s silence was observed in their memory.
In Colombo, the ceremony was held in the presence of Mr. Samarasinghe, Minister of Human Rights in Sri Lanka ; Sir John Holmes, Under-Secretary General at the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs and Coordinator of Emergency Aid and Benoît Miribel, Coordinator of the international network of Action contre la Faim.
At the association’s HQ in Paris and under the aegis of its president Denis Metzger, ACF organized a commemoration on Monday 6 August at 5 p.m. in the presence of employees, members, administrators and members of other NGOs based in Paris.
The other HQs of Action contre la Faim (Paris, London, New York, Madrid and Montreal) as well as the 43 ACF missions around the world were also called on to join these ceremonies.
Ceremony in Paris
Ceremony in Sri Lanka
2 years after : August 4 2008
Exactly 2 years after the massacre, ACF pays tribute to the aid workers at its headquarters in Paris to show they are not forgotten.
Speeches describing each victim are made in memory of these workers gone too soon. ACF's chairman, Denis Metzger, keeps calling for joint mobilization in order to find the truth.
