On 23rd November, the University of Nottingham’s Tamil Society held a memorial event to commemorate Maaveerar Naal.
Events were held in the UK, Canada, and other places across the Tamil diaspora this week to honour the families of cadres who gave their lives in the struggle for Tamil Eelam. In the run-up to Maaveerar Naal on November 27, the families of fallen fighters are traditionally honoured. Such events have already taken place in the Tamil homeland, despite the intimidation of the Sri Lankan security forces. In the diaspora, events mirrored the North-East, with relatives of the fallen joining former LTTE members, activists and the rest of the Tamil people in paying tribute to the Maaveerar. See...
Tamil newspapers on the island carried articles on Sunday to mark the 69 th birthday of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). “Leader Prabhakaran’s birthday today,” read the Uthayan front-page headline, above a photograph of the LTTE leader. The lead story of the Maalai Murasu , another Jaffna-based newspaper, covered how locals marked Prabhakaran’s birthday outside his childhood home earlier today. The coverage of Prabhakaran’s birthday comes despite Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) interrogating a Tamil journalist earlier this...
A blood donation drive was held at Abisha hospital in Mulliyawalai, Mullaitivu today to mark the sixth day of Maaveerar remembrance week.
Drone footage shows preparations for the 36th Maaveerar Naal have been completed at Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam in Kilinochchi this evening. Kanagapuram, a short distance from Kilinochchi town was one of the largest Thuyilum Illams built and maintained by the LTTE in the North-East. It was bulldozed over by the Sri Lankan state following the end of the armed conflict. The remnants of broken gravestones have been collected to form a makeshift monument ahead of tomorrow's Maaveerar Naal event. Over recent years, Tamils have gathered at Kanagapuram Thuyilum in large numbers to commemorate the...
Sri Lankan police have prohibited the use of the karthigai poo - the Tamil national flower - at Maaveerar Naal commemorations in Mullaitivu. Former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran alongside other Maaveerar Naal organiseers were at Iraddai Vaikkal Thuyilum Illam when they were approached by Sri Lankan police officers. Ravikaran told the police officers that "we haven't used Prabhakaran's photo, we haven't used any LTTE photos either. We are thinking about our relatives when we mark this day." The police claimed that the karthigai poo is an "LTTE symbol" but Ravikaran...
The Mullaitivu Magistrates Court issued an order on Friday 24 November 2023, prohibiting all remembrance events and places in Mullaitivu dedicated to fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres ahead of Maaveerar Day (27 November 2023). The order, prompted by complaints made by the Mullaitivu police department, specifically targets several individuals and organisations involved in organising the commemorative events in the district.
In advance of the 36th Maaveerar Naal commemoration, Tamils across the homeland are preparing cemeteries to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the armed struggle.
The 69 th birthday of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was marked at several locations in Jaffna earlier today, including outside his childhood home. Former MP M K Shivajilingam cut a cake in Valvettithurai, the leader's hometown, to mark the day. Locals also distributed sweets and lit firecrackers, as an increased Sri Lankan security presence was reported. Prabhakaran’s childhood home was demolished by the Sri Lankan state in 2010. Meanwhile, University of Jaffna students cut a cake in secret in front of his portrait to celebrate his 69th...
Sri Lanka’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Director of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) pledged to take legal action against those who attempted to mark Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the North-East geared up to commemorate their fallen fighters on Monday. Both the IGP and head of the TID gave an undertaking to Court of Appeal, the second most senior court in the Sri Lankan legal system, through Senior State Counsel Shaminda Wickrema, stating that any individuals who marked the day would be investigated under the Criminal Procedure Code. It came after a retired Sri...