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Representatives of civil society organisations, clergy, and the general public staged a protest in front of the Trincomalee Shiva Temple to demonstrate their anger at the continued detention of the Vedukkunaari devotees by the Sri Lankan state.
The protest in Trincomalee mirrored similar demonstrations across the Tamil homeland, including in Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Jaffna.
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The protest comes after Sri Lanka police unleashed violence at the Vedukkunaari temple earlier this month, deploying riot police and forcibly taking away devotees who were engaged in worship. Member of Parliament Selvarajah Kajendren was assaulted by Sri Lankan police, and a further 8 worshippers were arrested during the incident.
The eight individuals who were arrested are: Kanthasamy Gowrikanthan (24), Thilakanathan Kinthuyan (28), Sivam Luxshan (28), Thurairasa Thamichelvan (28), Makenthiran Narenthiran (29), Rasaratnam Vinayagamoorthy (30), Subramaniyam Thavapalasingam (35), Thampirasa Mathimugarasa (45).
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Since their arrest, five of the eight individuals launched a hunger strike in protest of their unlawful detainment and to demand that they are released. The families of those hunger striking reported that their health has deteriorated and urged the authorities to release them so they can be reunited with their loved ones.
Although Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan temple has been a place of worship for Tamil people for generations, it has been declared as an ancient Buddhist site by Sri Lanka's archaeology department. This forms part of Sri Lanka's ongoing efforts to colonise traditionally Tamil sites.
