Preparations for Maaveerar Naal, or Great Heroes’ Day, have begun in Vavuniya, where volunteers gathered today to clean and honour the Eechankulam Thuyilum Illam (resting place) — one of the many LTTE cemeteries that was destroyed by the Sri Lankan military and remains under their control.
As in previous years, commemoration activities could not take place within the cemetery grounds, which continue to be occupied by the army. Instead, organisers held a memorial event nearby, lighting lamps in remembrance of the Maaveerar — those who gave their lives in the Tamil liberation struggle — before beginning the voluntary labour effort.
The event was led by S. Thavapalan, the Vavuniya District Organiser of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), and attended by members of the organising committee, youth volunteers, and local residents.
Despite restrictions and the heavy surveillance surrounding such commemorations, Tamils across the North-East have continued to prepare for Maaveerar Naal on 27 November, cleaning and restoring Thuyilum Illams that were razed or desecrated by the Sri Lankan state after the end of the armed conflict in 2009.
In Vavuniya and elsewhere across the Tamil homeland, local organisers have reiterated their demand for the complete release of these lands from military occupation, stressing that remembrance “cannot take place under the shadow of the military.”
