The Sri Lankan government are “intending to incite tension and violence by using the stated armed forces to occupy Maaveerar remembrance sites and obstruct us from commemorating our children ,” said former parliamentarian and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sivagnanam Sritharan.

Sritharan commented on this following his visit yesterday to the Theravil Maaveerar Thuyillum Illum (resting place);

“Despite being cordoned off by the Forest Department, the Thuyillum Illum area is being used to harvest vegetables by the army.

The seeds of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil liberation struggle, are planted here. Since 2015, we come here to commemorate our fallen children. This area  falls in the Kandavalai Divisional Secretariat and is currently protected and reserved for government purposes.

If the government wants to use the land, permission needs to be attained from both the Divisional Secretary and the Grama Niladharis. 

Sritharan emphasised the consequences of state occupation on the land;

“If the army sets up a camp here, then this shows a deliberate attempt to prevent people from paying respects to their fallen children.  

The government have failed to understand and disregarded how this will affect people mentally. This indicates that the army has begun efforts to provoke tension and violence against us.”

Sritharan also highlighted the impact of the increased militarisation across the North-East;

Increased militarisation

“Since the appointment of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the president, the militarisation has increased. Their powers have also been reinforced, with the backing of the president, and they feel like they can do anything without being questioned.

They are also slowly taking over the places our people use to remember the fallen,” he said. 

Sritharan “reminded the international bodies and human rights organisations of the world” that the “resolution passed in Geneva clearly outlines the crimes and atrocities that have been committed by the Sri Lanka military.

“This includes things like identifying the perpetrators of the crimes and holding them accountable. It is also promoted reconciliation so that would allow people to pay tribute to their children,” he added.

He demanded action that has been ignored;

“Despite this, the Sri Lankan government has chosen to head down the path of ignoring international law by disregarding this resolution from Geneva UN Human Rights Council. We will continue to deal with this in a manner that will ensure that it is brought to the attention of the international community,” he said.