Sri Lankan police disrupted an event in Muthur, Trincomalee today which was organised to distribute Mullivaikkal kanji ahead of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.
Police officers arrived at the event and seized a banner erected at the event and summoned the organisers for questioning.
"The [Sri Lankan] president has said we can commemorate our dead...that is what we are doing," one of the participants said.
Tamils have been distributing kanji across the North-East over the last week to honour the Tamil victims who were slaughtered by the Sri Lankan military in the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009.
Kanji - a porridge of rice and water - was the only food available to Tamils trapped in the Sri Lankan government-declared 'No Fire Zones' as food, medicines, and other necessities were heavily restricted from entering the Vanni during the final phase of the armed conflict.
For years, Tamils in the North-East have been subjected to surveillance and harassment particularly in the lead up and on key dates such as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day and Maaveerar Naal.