Photo credit: Twitter - @kavinthans
Sri Lankan police blocked Tamils in Kilinochchi from marking the three year anniversary of the statue built of Tamil King Akkarayan on Monday and accused demonstrators of "commemorating the Black Tigers".
Sri Lankan state officials remove flowers placed as tribute to mark the statue built on 5th July 2018. [Photo credit: Tamilwin]
Police denied permission to pay homage to the shortland king Akkarasan, who ruled Akkarayan in kilinochchi. also flower wreath brought by the organizers was snatched and thrown by the police who accused them that trying to commemorate the blacktigers. pic.twitter.com/i3hvqZpwB0
— Pragas Gnanapragasam ? (@PragasGnanam) July 5, 2021
The Sri Lankan police told attendees they were not allowed to lay wreaths of flowers to the statue of King Akkarayan claiming it was an attempt to mark Black Tigers Day. Attendees clarified that the statue was installed on the same day in 2018, however, police officers continued to shut down the event.
[Photo credit: Tamilwin]
King Akkarayan was one of the Tamil Kings of Vanni, who ruled over the Akkarayan region in the 13th century. He was credited for building the Akkarayan Kulam.
Many organisations and Tamil politicians have expressed their frustration and concern over Sri Lanka's intensifying crackdown of Tamils' right to remember across the North-East. Tamils in the homeland have faced numerous hurdles in their attempts to remember. In May, the Sri Lankan army locked down Mullaitivu in an effort to stop Tamil Genocide Day commemorations. In January, Sri Lankan authorities destroyed the Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna University. In November 2020, the SL government imposed a ban on commemorating Maaveerar Naal.
Last month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, raised concerns over Sri Lanka's crackdown noting the inability of Tamils to commemorate these memorials and the harassment of journalists.
