Threats posed by Sri Lanka’s intelligence forces prevented the remembrance of the Manmunai massacre which took place on September 21, 1990, in which 18 Tamil civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan Army and Muslim Home Guards in Puthukudiyiruppu in Manmunai North, Batticaloa.
TNA MP P Ariyanethiran held an individual vigil at the monument to the victims in Manmunai, on the thirtieth anniversary of the massacre. While the massacre is usually commemorated by locals and families of the victims, the threats made by intelligence personnel prevented an event from taking place.
This month, several attempts to commemorate the anniversary of Lt Col Thileepan’s fast unto death were banned by Sri Lankan security forces. Last week, M K Shivajilingam, a former member of the Northern Provincial Council, was arrested as he attempted pay tribute to Thileepan in Nallur.