Thousands of people from Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority areas culminated in Jaffna on Sunday, ending a five-day rally to assert the rights of Tamil and Muslim minorities.
The rally, which began in Pothuvil in the eastern Ampara district last week, covered several towns along the way in the Eastern Province and the Vanni, before reaching Polikandy in Jaffna district.
Many civil society organisations came together, while prominent legislators and members of various Tamil and Muslim political parties joined the procession, chanting slogans against the government’s “repression” against Sri Lanka’s minorities.
Over the last five days, police sought to prevent the rallies, local media reported, citing COVID-19 regulations. However, the masked participants carried on, pointing to other events marked by the government, that had proceeded, according to media reports.
“The reason for this protest walk is to draw attention to the rights of the Tamil-speaking people that have been denied in this country,” Jaffna legislator M.A. Sumanthiran told AFP.
The issues highlighted at the rally included the persisting calls from families of forcible disappeared persons, concerns around “land grab” and reported attacks on Hindu temples in the area, persisting militarisation, surveillance of journalists and human rights defenders, attempts to prevent memorialisation by Tamils, mandatory cremations denying Muslims burial rights during the pandemic, and long-pending call for a LKR-1,000 rupee basic wage for Malaiyaha or Hill Country Tamils employed in tea estates.