A memorial float dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan, who fasted unto death in September 1987, will travel through the North-East this week as the Tamil nation remembers his sacrifice 38 years on. 

The procession, led by the Tamil National People's Front's (TNPF) Amparai district organiser Dushananthan, began in Thirukovil, Amparai and travelled through Alaiyadevembu, Karaitivu, Valathappitty, Veeramunai and Kalmunai. 

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Tamils in Jaffna and Mullaitivu marked 38 years since Lt Col Thileepan began his hunger strike at Nallur Kandaswamy temple in protest against the failure of the Indian government to honour the pledges made it to the Tamil people. 

Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), began his fast on the 15th September 1987, surrounded by over 100,000 supporters. He died 11 days later on the 26th September 1987 after refusing food and water. 

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Sri Lanka’s former president and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to his family residence in Tangalle today, after being forced to vacate his luxury state-funded mansion in Colombo under new legislation scrapping benefits for former heads of state.

Indian officials held talks in Jaffna last week on the long-delayed development of Point Pedro harbour, pledging financial assistance for the project that has repeatedly failed to materialise in the Tamil homeland.

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