A memorial dedicated to the 24,379 Maaveerar was unveiled in Nallur, Jaffna today as the Tamil nation marks the first day of Maaveerar remembrance week.
Parents of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres and former cadres inaugurated the event by uncovering the plaques which listed the names of 24,379 Tamils who gave their lives in the struggle for self-determination between 27 November 1982 and 18 May 2009.
Shivapatham Inthravathi, the mother of three fallen cadres, lit a lamp in remembrance of her children and the tens of thousands of other Tamil martyrs.
Tamil MP C V Wigneswaran, former Jaffna Mayor V Mannivannan and former Northern Provincial Councillor N Shivajilingham were also amongst those present.
The memorial has been erected in front of a memorial dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan, who fasted unto death in 1987.
Events are taking place across the Tamil homeland in the run up to Maaveerar Naal, which is marked on November 27, in memory of the first death of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadre, Lt. Shankar who died in combat on November 27, 1982.
Each year, Tamils in the North-East are subjected to intimidation and harassment by Sri Lanka's security forces for commemorating fallen cadres. Sri Lankan police have filed petitions at courts in Mallakam and Valvettithurai in an attempt to ban any commemoration events from taking place this week. Police in Manipay, Jaffna claimed that the date on which Eelam Tamils around the world honour those who died in the liberation struggle, was glorifying terrorism.
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