The Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court issued a restraining order earlier this month banning a planned memorial procession in honour of Annai Poopathy, the Tamil mother who died in a hunger strike protesting the actions of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1988.
The prohibition, issued at the request of the Officer-in-Charge of the occupying Kokkuvil Police Station, blocked a public procession in Navalady, Batticaloa, that was reportedly being organised by activist Sabarethin Sivayoganathan (Seelan).
Police argued in court that the event was an attempt to commemorate members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and alleged it could be interpreted as an attempt to revive the group. Citing potential threats to public order amid ongoing local government elections, the court granted the police request.
However, the court clarified that there was no restriction on stationary tributes or peaceful individual commemorations at Annai Poopathy’s memorial site, explicitly limiting the ban to public gatherings and processions.
Despite the court order, Tamils across the North-East and in the diaspora marked the 37th anniversary of her death on 19 April 2025 with tributes and the lighting lamps.
Poopathy Kanapathipillai, affectionately known as Annai Poopathy (Mother Poopathy), began her hunger strike on March 19, 1988 in Batticaloa, calling for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks between the IPKF and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). She passed away on April 19, 1988, one month into her peaceful protest.
