More Sri Lankan police intimidation as Tamil genocide memorial events continue

by Thusiyan
May 14, 2020

Sri Lankan police continued their attempts to disrupt Tamil genocide memorial events, as they intruded on another commemoration at the Navaly Church in Jaffna this morning.

Members of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) had gathered to light a lamp in remembrance of the victims killed during the decades of Sri Lankan state violence, when uniformed Sri Lankan police officers attempted to stop the event.  

Over 140 Tamil civilians were killed The Church of St Peter at Navaly by Sri Lankan Air Force bombs dropped during the presidency of Chandrika Kumaratunga. On July 9 1995, the Sri Lankan Air Force bombed church and the nearby Sri Kathirgama Murugan Kovil, which were both sheltering displaced Tamils from army bombardment.

The Sri Lankan police intimidation today, with dozens of officers deployed to halt the commemoration taking place, is the second consecutive day that the security forces have attempted to stop remembrance events.

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