A note instructing Mariyasuresh Eswary to appear at the Mullaitivu Police Station for interrogation at 10.00 AM on March 9, 2021

Sri Lankan police questioned Mariyasuresh Eswary, the head of the Association of Relatives of Disappeared Persons in Mullaitivu, over her participation in the Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) march which took place over a month ago. 

Mrs Eswary was subjected to an investigation by Mullaitivu police following a protest to mark International Women’s Day as a ‘black day’ and called on the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan government to disclose the whereabouts of their loved ones. 

Mrs Eswary said that she was not questioned regarding the protests that took place on International Women’s Day and instead, the police interrogated her about the P2P protest that took place in February. Sri Lankan police have continuously interrogated Tamil civil society members, activists and parliamentarians for participating in the mass march which took place to highlight the ongoing issues faced by Tamils and Muslims and to call on the UN and the international community to heed Tamil calls for accountability and justice. 

Mrs Eswary has been at the forefront of the Mullaitivu families of the disappeared protest, which has now reached over 1,400 days of roadside protests. Tamil families of the disappared have been under increasing harassment and surveillance by Sri Lanka's security forces since the beginning of their protest in 2017. Ms Eswary has faced repeated attempts of intimidation, including assault and threats of death.

Despite the ongoing harassment, she has bravely continued to demonstrate alongside other Tamils to know the whereabouts of their forcibly disappeared relatives.