Updated 22:13 BST
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Sri Lankan police officers forcibly disrupted a remembrance event today held outside the office of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) in Kaithady, Jaffna, kicking and stamping out a flame of remembrance lit to commemorate the thousands killed in Mullivaikkal 5 years ago, whilst shouting in Sinhala.
NPC Councillors, Ananthy Sasitharan and Mr. Shivajilingham were holding the commemorative event just outside the office premises, as the gates were padlocked with security forces surrounding the area.
Mr. Shivajilingham was in the process of lighting the flame, when police officers rushed in, throwing the lamp to the ground.
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Video courtesy of Aayutha Elutthu |
Undeterred, the councillors went on to hold a minute of silence for the victims of the Sri Lankan army and proceeded to speak to the people and journalists that were there.
Addressing fellow mourners, Mr. Shivajilingham condemned the police's actions as barbaric.
"If the JVP can commemorate its dead on April 5th in the South, why can't Eelam Tamils remember our dead?" he questioned.
"We are living under barbaric oppression, where flames of remembrance are stamped on by shoes. The message that this country does not belong to you has been made absolutely clear to us [by the government]," he added, concluding his address with the statement, the Tamils' longing is for Tamil Eelam.
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“The Sri Lankan state is intent on showing the next generation of Tamils that we are a defeated people. But we will not stop,” Mr. Shivajilingham said, condemning the fact that Tamils were not even in a position to mourn their dead.
“I lived through those horrific months and saw so many people die in front of my eyes. It is our responsibility to commemorate those that died,” Ms Sasitharan told Tamil Guardian afterwards, condemning the attack by the police.
“The international community can see that we are oppressed. We want to gather and mourn with people who went through the same experiences, but the government tells us to mourn on our own," she said.
"We went through so much suffering and the Sri Lankan state continues to put us through more suffering. They are violating our basic human rights. Instead they are celebrating their victory day and their Buddhist festivals in areas where there are no Buddhists, forcing Tamils to celebrate with them,” Ms Sasitharan added.
Her comments were echoed by NPC Councillor MK Shivajilingam who said that whilst the government were celebrating, the Tamils were in a state of mourning.
"The actions of the government today has demonstrated to the world once again the lengths they will go to disrupt even the smallest Tamil efforts to mourn our dead," Mr. Shivajilingham told Tamil Guardian after the event.
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