Thiyagi Thileepan remembered across N&E

A commemorative event organized by students attached to the Univeristy of Jaffna inside campus premises. Pix: Student Union

Several commemorative events were held across North and East provinces today marking the 37th anniversary of Thiyagi Thileepan who passed away on this day, 37 years ago after twelve days of the continuous fast unto death campaign. 

The main event was held at the partially damaged memorial in Nallur, Jaffna where youths, political activists and university students took part. Flying kavadis were also seen at the final memorial day where hundreds from various parts of the district participated. 

Students attached to the University of Jaffna also marked the event inside the university premises with offering flowers and garlands as well. 

On September 19, Jaffna Magistrate Courts turned down a police request to issue an order banning commemoration events to remember Thiyagi Thileepan. 

When the application was taken up for hearing yesterday, the Court noted that an Extraordinary Gazette notification was issued in 2011 banning the usage of symbols belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam but not the war dead.

The Court also noted that local communities organized such commemoration events for the last thirteen years and there were no steps by either the President, Prime Minister or Minister in Charge of Public Security to prevent them in the past. “Therefore police seeking to ban those events is not acceptable,”

Since September 15, several commemoration events have been held by local communities and youth groups across the two provinces and will continue till September 26. 

Known by the nom de guerre Thileepan, Rasaiah Parthipan, one-time Jaffna Commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) died while on a fast unto death campaign in 1987 after twelve days of continuous protest campaign demanding Tamil peoples' rights and urged India to keep its assurances it made at that time. (Northeastern Monitor/ September 26/2024)