A protest was held in Jaffna, calling on the Sri Lankan government to release all political prisoners and to uphold human rights across the North-East.
The demonstration, organised by the New Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party in front of the Jaffna Central Bus stand, called on the government to address various issues including the rise of food and fuel prices and ensuring that the coronavirus vaccine is available and accessible to everyone. Protestors also called out the lack of government support for the crisis being suffered by farmers and fishermen across the Tamil homeland.
The protest was forced to come to an end when Sri Lankan police officers arrived to demand that they immediately cease and that everyone should leave.
Protestors carried banners with slogans, that read “release all political prisoners!”, “do not torture us under the disguise of COVID restrictions!”, “provide vaccinations to all!”, “start schools only after implementing safety measures!”, “immediately reduce the price of food and fuels!”, “solve the farmers and fishermen crisis!” and “stop price increases!”.
