Tamils commemorated the political wing leader of the LTTE, Lt Col Thileepan in Jaffna to mark 37 years since he began his fast unto death on September 15, 1987.
Tamils commemorated the political wing leader of the LTTE, Lt Col Thileepan in Jaffna to mark 37 years since he began his fast unto death on September 15, 1987.
Maaveerar Roshan's mother lit a lamp at a memorial dedicated to Thileepan in Nallur, Jaffna, this morning to remember Thileepan's sacrifice.
The Tamil common candidate, Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanenthiran was also present at the remembrance event.
On September 13, 1987, Thileepan put forward the following demands to the Indian government following the signing of the Indo-Lanka accord in July 1987.
1) All Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) should be released.
2)The colonisation by Sinhalese in Tamil areas under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped.
3) All such rehabilitation should be stopped until an interim government is formed.
4) The Sri Lankan government should stop opening new police stations and camps in the Northeastern province.
5) The Sri Lankan army and police should withdraw from schools in Tamil villages and the weapons given by the Sri Lankan government to 'homeguards' should be withdrawn under the supervision of the Indian army.
The commemoration took place even though Sri Lankan police have sought a court order to prohibit events commemorating Thileepan.
The petition was filed at Jaffna Magistrate Courts on Friday, September 13, by the Jaffna Police Division. The Magistrate has ordered that a hearing be conducted and it has been fixed for the 18th of this month. Accordingly, Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren and former Jaffna Mayor Visvalingam Manivannan have been named in the petition.
