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As residents of Kankesanthurai continue a long-standing campaign for the release of their Hindu cremation ground, National People’s Power (NPP) Member of Parliament S. Siripavanandarajah visited the site on Saturday and assured local Tamils that steps would be taken to restore it for public use.
The cremation ground has remained inaccessible since around 1990, when the people of Kankesanthurai were forcibly displaced from the area by the occupying Sri Lankan military.
Although resettlement took place in stages nearly twenty-five years later, the land on which the cremation ground is located, along with surrounding plots, remains occupied. At the time, the area fell within a so-called ‘High Security Zone’ and remains under the control of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
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For nearly a decade, local residents have repeatedly appealed to various state authorities for the release of the cremation ground, stressing its religious and cultural significance to the Tamil people of the area. Despite these efforts, the land has continued to remain inaccessible.
Many elderly residents have said that their final wish is to be cremated on their own soil, at the same cremation ground where generations of their ancestors were laid to rest. Community members say the continued denial of access has caused deep distress, particularly among older residents who fear they may never see the site returned in their lifetime.
In an effort to advance the demand, residents submitted a formal request to Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha member Seetha Sivasubramaniam, calling for the release of both the cremation ground and the access road leading to it. Following her intervention, the issue was brought to the attention of MP Siripavanandarajah, who then visited the site to conduct an inspection.
During his visit, the MP assured residents that he would engage with the relevant Sri Lankan authorities and take prompt action to secure the release of the Hindu cremation ground. He said steps would be taken to restore the site so that it could once again be used by the local community.
The continued occupation of burial and cremation grounds across the North-East has long been a source of anger among Tamil communities, who view such restrictions as part of the wider militarisation of the Tamil homeland and the denial of fundamental cultural and religious rights. Residents of Kankesanthurai say they will continue to press their demand until the cremation ground is returned to public use.
