Heidi Alexander answered yes to investigating the genocide and the Tamil nation's right to self-determination. British Tamils have grown used to governments that only act when a crisis on the island forces it onto the agenda. The families have maintained continuous roadside protests since February 2017, one of the longest sustained demonstrations anywhere in the world. The families at Chemmani placed their lives in the hands of a delegation that could offer only assurances. Britain's new ministers hold actual power, and their own words hold them to its use.