In Sri Lanka, Tamil activists hold protest; demand justice for those killed in civil war

Tamil political and civil society groups in Sri Lanka on Wednesday held a protest rally highlighting the grievances being faced by the community and also demanded justice for civilians who were killed and disappeared during the civil war in the island nation. According to United Nations (UN) figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by the security forces during then Mahindra Rajapaksa's regime that brought an end to nearly 3 decares of civil war in Sri Lanka with the defeat of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in 2009. Since then, both the government troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of war crimes. 

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Sri Lanka: Tamil activists & civil groups hold 4-day protest rally

According to the protest's organisers, the protest rally that is currently being staged by Tamil activists and civil groups in Sri Lanka had seen huge participation even after the local police had obtained court orders to stop it. The 4-day protest rally had started from Pottuvil town in the eastern Amparai district and will end at Polikandy in the northern Jaffna district on February 6. 

This protest by the local Tamil activists and civil groups comes days after the UN Human Rights Office last week called for an international action to ensure justice for international crimes allegedly committed during the 26-year civil war. However, Sri Lanka has rejected the report. 

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This protest aims at highlighting several issues which are being faced by the Tamil community in Lanka. The protestors allege that lands owned by Tamils are being grabbed and Tamil areas are also being systematically populated with the majority Sinhala community since the military conflict ended in 2009 in the country. The protestors also claimed that Tamil political prisoners continue to languish in jails under the prevention of terrorism laws. 

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Members of Sri Lanka's main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said the court orders were served on politicians,  preventing them from taking part in the peaceful protest march. Alleging that while the protests are being allowed to take place in the Sinhala majority south of the island, TNA members said that the Tamils in the north and east are being discriminated against. 

According to local media reports, TNA parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran said that this protest aims at raising awareness on the government's continuous restrictions imposed on the minorities, illegal acquirement of lands belonging to the people in the North and East, urging the release of Tamil political prisoners, and to protest all forms of human rights violations in Sri Lanka. 

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(With PTI inputs)