TAMIL CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - TCHR/CTDH CENTRE TAMOUL POUR LES DROITS DE L'HOMME (Established in 1990) (UN accredited NGO to the World Summit on Information Society and the Warsaw Conference) 21 March 2019 Deepest sympathy We, TCHR, were shocked to hear that Mr V Varathakumar (Varathar anna) of Tamil Information Centre – TIC suddenly passed away. Varathakumar was a dedicated and tireless Tamil activist, promoting human rights and Humanitarian issues through TIC, of which he was one of the founders. He worked independently and maintained good relationships with all diaspora groups as well as with local organisations. In some projects, we TCHR worked with TIC and Varathar anna, shoulder to shoulder. Last May, we TCHR, got an opportunity to meet the then High Commissioner for Human Rights – HCHR, Zeid Al-Hussein. For this meeting we chose Varathar anna and few other veteran human rights activists who are well known internationally. In this meeting, Varathar anna briefed the HCHR on what he had seen and witnessed during his recent visits to Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that in many aspects, the loss of Varathar anna will make a vacuum, especially in the present situation of the Eelam Tamils. We TCHR convey our heartfelt condolences to his family members, friends and colleagues. "A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again" -- Maya Angelou (A photo with HCHR Al Hussein) TAMIL CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - TCHR/CTDH