Thileepan’s 16th year commemoration begins in NE

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2003, 17:10 GMT]
The Tamil people in the Northeast Monday began observing the sixteenth death anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan, a senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who died after twelve days’ fasting unto death due to the failure of the Indian government in fulfilling five demands put forward by him to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people soon after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement, sources said.

Lt. Col. Thileepan began his fasting on 15 September 1987 and passed away on September 26 at a stage in front of the Nallur Kandasamy temple, sources said.

At the newly constructed Thileepan memorial in Nallur close to Kandasamy temple in Jaffna town, the Joint Organizer of the Thamileelam Education Development Board, Mr.Arun, lit the common flame of sacrifice and LTTE’s Jaffna district political head, Mr.C.Ilamparuthi, hoisted the Thamileelam national flag, sources said.

The President of the Jaffna District National Resurgence Forum and a well-known author of several books, Mr.Sembian Chelvan, presided.

Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Jaffna visited the site when a large number of people paid their homage to the late leader, sources said.

Meanwhile, in several parts of Jaffna peninsula, functions were organized to commemorate the death anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan. In Mannar too, Thileepan commemoration celebration began Monday with the hoisting of Thamileelam national flag at the main office of the LTTE by its Mannar political head, Mr.C.Amirthab, sources said.

“The five demands put forward by Lt. Col. Thileepan following the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement are not outdated and are valid even after signing the ceasefire agreement by the present Sri Lankan government with the LTTE,” said the LTTE’s Trincomalee district martyrs’ office head, Mr.Thennavan, addressing a gathering held at the political office of the LTTE in Trincomalee town at the inaugural event of the Thileepan commemoration celebrations Monday, sources said.



Women pay homage to late leader Thileepan at the function in Trincomalee LTTE political office.


The five demands were: 1. The Tamil youths detained in prisons or in detention centres under the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be released forthwith.

2. All Sinhala colonization schemes taking place in Tamil homeland under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped forthwith

3. Until an interim administrative council is established all rehabilitation works in the northeast should be stopped.

4. Police stations should not be opened in northeast province.

5. Arms and ammunition supplied to home guards under the supervision of the Indian Peace Keeping Force should be withdrawn immediately and army camps and police stations established in Tamil villages and schools should be closed down.

At the commencement, the LTTE’s Trincomalee town office head, Mr.Mathi, lit the common flame of sacrifice and its Kanniya political head, Mr.Atputhan, hoisted the Thamileelam national flag. Mr.Sithiriavelutaham, father of Black Tiger martyr Captain Sivasunthar, paid homage to Lt Col. Thileepan by lighting the flame of sacrifice and garlanding Thileepan’s photograph, sources said.



LTTE Kanniya political head Mr.Atputham hoisting the Thamileelam national flag at the Trincomalee function


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