Tamil residents foil land grab attempt at Alampil LTTE cemetery to expand military base

Tamils in Mullaitivu thwarted the fourth attempt by Sri Lanka's land survey department to forcibly seize land belonging to Alampil Thuyilum Illam (LTTE cemetery), reportedly to extend the 10th Sinha Regiment’s military camp. 

Families of fallen LTTE cadres, residents and former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran were alarmed to see the presence of officials from the survey department and expressed their opposition over their attempt to survey the land where the LTTE cemetery is located.  

The land survey officials were forced to abandon their work after residents in the area handed a letter to them expressing their oppostion. However, even after the surveyors left the area, Sri Lankan police officers stayed at the site and filmed the residents - a common tactic used by the state's forces to intimidate Tamils. 

The 10th Sinha Regiment of the Sri Lankan Army currently occupies a part of the LTTE cemetery after they seized the land in 2009.  Relatives of fallen LTTE cadres pay their respects at the site even though the Sri Lankan military destroyed the cemetery and have been occupying the land for years. Some of the family members have previously staged a hunger strike demanding that the land is released to back to them. 

The land surveying department visited the same area in January this year to survey the land but had to abandon it due to protests by residents. 

Thuyilum Illams - resting places - were built across the North-East by the LTTE in the 1990s. Thuyilum Illams were destroyed both during the armed conflict and later bulldozed over by the Sri Lankan state following the Tamil genocide in 2009. In some areas, the Sri Lankan army have built over them and set up their army bases.

While all of the Thuyilum Illams have been destroyed by Sri Lanka, families of fallen cadres still gather there on Maaveerar Naal to remember their loved ones in spite of intimidation by the state.