Pongu Tamil celebrations were held in Ottawa on July, 13, 
2002 in the Astrolabe theatre. Several hundred people, both Tamils and non-Tamils participated in this celebration. The beautiful location of the Astrolabe theatre was further beautified by the pongu tamil decorations. Yellow and Red flags filled the surroundings of the theatre. Portraits of the Tamil National leader Mr.V.Prabaharan were apparent all around the premises. The stage was also decorated in an elegant manner. A smiling, calm, picture of the Tamil national leader was placed in the center of the stage. A Tamil traditional lamp was on the left side of the stage right next to the podium. The atmosphere of the stadium was very peaceful and relaxing.
The events started with the lighting of the Tamil Traditional lamp by Mrs. Ranganathan. Raising of the Tamil National flag and the Canadian flag followed. Ottawa resident Mr. Muthulingam hoisted the Tamil national flag and the president of the Carleton University Tamil Students Association, Mr.Panchalingam hoisted the Canadian flag. People stood patriotically during the singing of the Tamil and the Canadian national anthems.
Local artists together with speakers and musicians from India performed the shows. There were several dances by the students of Mr. Vasu Sinnaraja that received a huge welcome from the audience. These were group dances of more than 10 dancers and the choreography was exceptional. Even the people that were taking a break from the hot sun under shades came rushing back to their seats when they heard the announcement “Next is a dance by …”. One of the mothers in the audience was overheard saying to her infant girl “you should learn dance from Vasu Master when you grow up”.
Following the first set of dances, was a speech by Ottawa Tamil Coordinating Committee coordinator Mr.Kannan. In his speech, Mr.Kannan made reference to the location of the Astrolabe theatre. He said: To the back of the theatre is the Canadian parliament, to the front is the United States of America’s Canadian consulate, and to the right is a monument, which stands with pride, of the first French settler Champlain, and in the middle we have the Tamil National flag proudly hoisted. One day, this flag will be flying in the compound of the United Nations, and we shall all hope for that special day. Crowd cheered this statement by a huge round of applause.
Ottawa’s own Susi Nallaiya has also done an outstanding job in training the group of dancers who were all in their pre-teens. These children also received a good round of applause for their outstanding performance. Following the dances was a classical music show by an Indian music group called “Kalivaanar isai kulu”. Tamil freedom songs were sung by this group and this program was also a notable addition to the event.
Next in the list was a speech by Mr.Ravi Thamilvaanan who is the publisher of the well-known Indian press “Manimehali Perasuram”. In his speech, Mr.Thamilvaanan said that it’s not an uncommon thing in this world for countries to first brand freedom struggles and freedom fighters as “terrorists” and then few years down the road to praise the same people and struggles as heroic. Mr.Thamilvaanan used the example of Nelson Mandela as a supporting evident for his statement. Mr.Thamilvaann further said that it’s only a matter of time before the Tamil freedom struggle is also accepted and praised by the international community.
The most anticipated and the key event of the ceremony was 
a speech by an Indian lawyer Mrs. Arul Molzhi. Pin drop silence was observed among the audience during Arul Molzi’s speech. Arul Molzi is a well known Tamil speaker who fully understands the Tamil struggle in SriLanka. Currently, in India, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is banned as a terrorist organization. India’s laws: Prevention Of Terrorism Act (POTA) and another similar act “TATA” have been used by the Indian government in the past to arrest and detain Indian citizens who speak in support of the Tamil struggle in SriLanka.
Referring to these laws, Arul Molzi said that she’s a lawyer and she knows enough to save herself if the Indian government tries to arrest her using these laws.
Arul Molzi further said that these laws are being abused and misused by some Indian politicians for personal reasons. Arul Molzi, congratulated the Tamil struggle for successfully having eliminated the age old problems of cast system and the oppression against women. Arul Molzi continued to say that the Ariyan media have long been trying to tarnish the image of Dravidians. She said that the portrayal of the ancient SriLankan king “Ravanan” as an evil person in the popular India myth “Ramayanam” is the beginning of this Ariyan agenda. She further said that if they can call “Ravanan” a monster, it does not surprise her that they call the Tamil National leader Mr.V. Prabaharan a terrorist. Arul Molzi went on to say that the Tamil struggle will not only restore freedom for the present day Tamils in SriLanka but it will also restore the real image of the ancient Tamil king “Ravanan”.
As the last event of the ceremony, a resolution was made. The resolution included:
1) SriLankan government should fully implement the items agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the government and the Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam. 2) The SriLankan acts of “Emergency act” and the “Prevention of Terrorism act”, which have been in place for more than a decade in contradiction to the 
international laws, should immediately be abolished. Also, the thousands of Tamil political prisoners who have been detained in Srilankan prisons for years under these laws should immediately be released.
3) As agreed on the MoU, the SriLankan forces should immediately vacate from temples, schools and other public places.
4) Legal aspirations of the Tamils: distinct nationality, traditional homeland and the right to self-determination, should be recognized by the international community.
5) Tamils in SriLanka have accepted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as their sole representatives. Through this event, the Tamils of Ottawa are also proclaiming the LTTE as our sole representatives.
6) Since it is now a well established fact that the LTTE is the sole representatives of the SriLankan tamils, to help the peace process, the ban on the LTTE should first be lifted in SriLanka and then in the rest of the world.
7) Canadian government has included the LTTE in the list of banned organizations due to missunderstandings. This event urges the Canadian government, on behalf of the 250,000 Tamil Canadians, that the ban on the LTTE should be lifted in order for the LTTE to fairly participate in the peace process as the legitimate representatives of the Tamils in SriLanka.
Over all, the ceremony was well received by the crowd.
TamilCanadian - july 16, 2002