Tamils gather by destroyed Nallur memorial to remember Thileepan

26 Sep  2016

Tamils gathered by the destroyed memorial to Lt Col Thileepan in Nallur on Monday evening to mark the 29th anniversary of his death. 

 

Laying flowers and lighting candles of remembrance, local people as well as the leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, Mavai Senathiraja, the Northern Provincial Council chairman, CV Sivagnanam and other NPC members including the agriculture minister, P Ayngaranesan honoured Thileepan's memory in two events held during the day. 

Several other events were held across the North-East in recent days to mark the anniversary of his hungerstrike. 

The memorial which has been repeatedly destroyed by the Sri Lankan military was built at the exact spot of his death. 

The tower was destroyed by the Sri Lankan army after they captured Jaffna in 1996. Despite being reconstructed during the ceasefire period, the memorial was destroyed again in 2007. The remnants of the tower were once again demolished further in 2012.

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