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TNPF organiser summoned over Thileepan remembrance

Sri Lankan police have summoned the Batticaloa Organiser of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) over attempts to commemorate the anniversary of Lt Col Thileepan’s fast unto death, as the security forces continue their crackdown across the Tamil homeland.

The TNPF said that Dharmaratanam Suresh has been summoned by police for questioning, in a tweet released earlier today.

“To add salt to injury, we continue to get served with documents in Sinhala despite us making clear that we need them in Tamil or English,” the party added.

The latest incident comes as police denied permission for an event that was to be held in Vavuniya this week, and arrested M K Shivajilingam, a former northern provincial council member, on Monday morning.

Thileepan’s hunger strike is commemorated by Eelam Tamils around the world, after he fasted to death in 1987, calling on the Indian government to accept key demands. He avoided consuming food or water for the next 11 days and became a martyr on September 26.

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