Tamils across the Eastern province served kanji in memory of the Tamils that perished at Mullivaikkal in 2009.
Kanji - a porridge of rice and water - was the only food available during the final months of the armed conflict as the Sri Lankan government had restricted food from entering the Vanni. Tamils in the North-East and the diaspora distribute kanji during Mullivaikkal Remembrance Week as a form of memorialisation.
Kanji was distributed at the Sivan temple in Trincomalee to devotees and passersby.
Earlier today, Sri Lankan police disrupted an event in Muthur, Trincomalee as Tamils tried to distribute kanji. The police took away a banner and summoned the organisers for questioning.
Students at the Eastern University in Chenkalady held a commemoration event on campus earlier today to remember the tens of thousands of lives killed in Mullivaikkal.
Candles were lit before kanji was served at an event in Akkaraipattu, Amparai, today.
Yesterday, the Batticaloa District Christian Union held a commemoration event at Gandhi Park in Batticaloa. The event included prayers for those who were massacred during the final phase of the conflict which was followed by the distribution of Mullivaikkal kanji.
The Association for the Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in Batticaloa distributed pamphlets titled “Let Us Tell the Story of Mullivaikkal’s Pain” to educate people on the Tamil genocide.
