Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the Defence Secretary to take steps to release lands belonging to LTTE cemeteries that remain under military occupation, according to Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar.
Speaking to the media following the Kilinochchi District Coordinating Committee meeting, Chandrasekar said the directive had come directly from the president, and that the army would “soon vacate the lands” within any occupied Thuyilum Illam - or resting places – where the bodies of thousands of fallen LTTE cadres were buried.
The minister stressed that the announcement was not his personal interpretation, but a message communicated explicitly on behalf of Dissanayake. He added that “the right to commemorate the Maaveerar fully belongs to the Tamil people,” and that the government had already begun releasing some lands seized from the Tamil homeland.
Chandrasekar claimed that Dissanayake’s instruction included the lands inside the cemeteries, which were intentionally destroyed, fenced off, or converted into military installations by the Sri Lankan state after the Mullivaikkal genocide of 2009. He said the release would allow families to honour their loved ones “with complete freedom.”
For decades, successive Sri Lankan governments have tightly restricted or criminalised Maaveerar Naal – or Heroes Day - commemorations. Across the North-East, cemeteries were bulldozed, tombstones smashed by the state, and military camps built on top of burial sites. Even in recent years, parents and relatives of the fallen have faced surveillance, threats, and arrests while attempting to light lamps or lay flowers.
This year, preparations for Maaveerar Naal have begun across the Tamil homeland, with voluntary labour underway to clean and restore several thuyilum illam sites. Local organisers have repeatedly demanded the full release of occupied cemetery lands, stating that remembrance “cannot take place under the shadow of the military.”
While Chandrasekar’s remarks signal a notable shift in rhetoric from Colombo, Tamils remain sceptical, pointing out that previous governments have made similar pledges only to reverse them or delay implementation. No timeline has yet been provided for the military’s withdrawal, and the Defence Ministry has not issued its own confirmation.
The coming weeks will test whether the president’s directive amounts to a genuine policy change.
