A protest was held in Nallur, Jaffna today following the removal of Lt. Col. Thileepan's statue by Sri Lankan police officers.
Around 20 Sri Lankan police officers seized the statue in the early hours of the morning, just one day after Tamil people marked the 39th anniversary of Thileepan's fast unto death.
Tamil politicians, civil society activists, religious leaders, families of the disappeared and members of the public gathered by the memorial to express their outrage at the act and demanded for the statue to be reinstalled immediately.
Chants at the protest included "Thiyaga Thileepan is the Tamil people's identity" and the "people's revolution will erupt" whilst protesters held placards condemning Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government.
The statue was unveiled on September 15, to mark the beginning of Thileepan's hunger strike. Every day since September 15, local residents have been visiting the memorial to pay their respects to Thileepan and to remember his sacrifice.
The statue stands at a site the Sri Lankan state has repeatedly tried to erase. A memorial tower built at the spot where Thileepan began his fast was destroyed by the Sri Lankan army after it captured Jaffna in 1996, reconstructed during the ceasefire period, destroyed a second time in 2007, and its remnants demolished further in 2012.
Commemorations dedicated to Thileepan have also faced obstructions by Sri Lanka's security forces over the years. This year, as Tamils gathered in Nallur to mark the fourth day of Thileepan's fast, Sri Lankan police officers confiscated the speakers from the event, citing that they were not authorised to be used.
On Friday, students at the University of Jaffna were questioned by Sri Lankan police during a token fast commemorating Lt. Col. Thileepan, and refused them permission to use loudspeakers at the event.
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