Tamils across the North-East have begun cleaning Thuyilum Illams - resting homes - this week in preparation of Maaveerar Naal.
Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes Day- is marked on November 27, in memory of the first death of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, Lt Col. Shankar who died in combat on November 27, 1982. .
The LTTE built Thuyilum Illams across the North-East to vury the bodies of LTTE cadres who had died during the armed conflict. However, all of these cemeteries were razed to the ground by the Sri Lankan military after the armed conflict ended in May 2009. In some areas, the military have built bases on top of the cemetries.
In recent years, Tamils have made efforts to gather the rubble of the destroyed tombstones and somewhat rebuild the graves, particularly in the run up to Maaveerar Naal.
Tamils gathered at Chatty Thuyilum Illam in Jaffna yesterday and lit a flame and laid flowers for the fallen LTTE fighters by a monument made from the broken gravestones before they started cleaning the area.
Tamils laid flowers by six remaining headstones at Aadkattivelli Thuyilum Illam in Mannar and cleaned the area for commemorations to take place on Maaveerar Naal.
In Kilinochchi, residents cleared Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam, which has so far seen the largest gatherings on Maaveerar Naal following the end of the armed conflict.
On Friday, Tamils paid their respects at Alankulam Thuyilum Illam in Mullaitivu and then proceeded to clean the cemetery.
