Tamil protests in Mannar against the installation of wind turbines and the excavation of mineral sands entered their 50th consecutive day yesterday, with demonstrators taking part in a torchlight march.
Organised by the Mannar Citizens’ Forum, the campaign has been led largely by youth and joined by villagers across the district, in opposition to large-scale wind power projects and ilmenite sand mining.
Demonstrators carried flaming torches through the streets of Mannar, vowing to continue their struggle. Among those in attendance was Fr. Marcus Adigalar, head of the Mannar Citizens’ Forum, alongside local youth and members of the public.
The previous day, a group of youth from Pambaimadu in Vavuniya, accompanied by priests and religious brothers, travelled to Mannar in solidarity. They joined the protests carrying placards with slogans denouncing both the wind power projects and the sand mining operations.
Demonstrators have long raised concerns that these projects are being advanced without consultation with local communities and threaten to dispossess Tamils of their lands and resources.
The Mannar protests are part of a wider struggle across the Tamil homeland against militarisation and resource exploitation, where locals have repeatedly accused the Sri Lankan state of prioritising corporate and foreign investment at the expense of Tamil livelihoods and the environment.
