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Below is the English translation of the editorial published on 10 October 2025 in the ITAK-affiliated Puthiya Suthanthiran newspaper
There was a time when it was the tradition of Eelam Tamils to regard the thuyilum illams, (LTTE cemeteries) where the heroes they saw as guardian deities rested, as temples. Before the war ended in this country, in November the Tamil homeland would have been decorated with red and yellow flags. To remind people, karthigai flowers (gloriosa lilies) would bloom and sway and look beautiful. It cannot be denied that this brought a feeling of liberation and a kind of uprising in the minds of Tamils.
Even after the war ended in 2009, Tamils did not forget to commemorate their relatives. That was during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brutal reign. Tamils from the Vanni region were held in those barbed wire-surrounded concentration camps. The military and their intelligence officers were sifting through every nook and cranny.
During this life-threatening period, many people were arrested by the military on false charges. Even in that situation, those in temporary shelters secretly commemorated their relatives by lighting lamps. At the same time, it cannot be denied that in the North-East Maaveerar Naal (Heroes Day) was observed despite suppression.
Maaveerar thuyilum illams were razed to the ground by the Sri Lankan Army, leaving not even a trace of where they stood. It was the Tamil people who piled up the broken pieces of the martyrs’ tombstones in those places and lit lamps for the martyrs. Even though the Sinhalese army occupied many thuyilum illams, Tamil people and Tamil nationalist politicians came together near those places to commemorate and pay their respects to the martyrs. Many were investigated for paying tribute to the martyrs. Many were severely threatened by the military. Many were imprisoned and later released on bail. It was in the midst of such persecution, that Tamil people began remembering their guardian deities.
Yesterday 09.10.2025, former fighters, social activists, and parents of the martyrs led a peaceful protest in front of the Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha. What was the purpose of that protest? Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha had planned to convert land where a thuyilum illam is located in Devipuram into a botanical garden. While there was opposition to the decision, the protest held in front of the Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha yesterday can be said to have strengthened this. The Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, Karikalan, rushed to the spot and gave a pledge to the protestors and the protest ended. The crowd gathered there accused that a single political party was attempting to take everything for itself. The thing to note here is that some people are playing politics with the martyrs and their sacrifice. For example, a political drama is being staged using the martyr Thileepan. Many have openly criticised this. Using the sacrifices of fighters for politics must be stopped. In this way, besides the fact that thuyilum illams should be cherished and protected, it is not acceptable for them to be used for other purposes.