Thileepan's 16th death anniversary to be commemorated

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 September 2003, 17:31 GMT]
Northeast province is preparing to observe the sixteenth death anniversary of late senior leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Lt Colonel Thileepan Monday, September 15, the day he began his fast unto death when the Indian Government refused to meet the demands he made on behalf of Tamils. He passed away on 26th September 1987, on the twelvth day after he began his fast, sources said.



Thileepan was 23 at the time of his death.

Tamils in northeast have organized several events in memory of Lt Colonel Thileepan from September 15 to September 26, sources said.

Lt Colonel Thileepan began his fast on a stage constructed at the outer road of the Nallur Kandasamy Temple.

The five demands put forward by him to the Indian government were:

1. The Tamil youths detained in prisons or in detention centres under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) should be released immediately,
2. Sinhala colonization schemes taking place in Tamil homeland under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped,
3. Until an interim administrative council is established all rehabilitation works in the northeast should be stopped,
4. Sri Lanka Police stations should not be opened in northeast province, and
5. Arms and ammunition supplied to home guards under the supervision of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) should be withdrawn immediately and army camps and police stations established in Tamil villages and schools should be closed.

Lt Colonel Thileepan, born as Rasiah Parthipan on 27.11.1963 at Urelu in Jaffna district, had his higher education in Jaffna Hindu College. Although he was selected to Jaffna University medical faculty he joined the liberation struggle launched by the LTTE. Later he became the Jaffna district political wing leader of the LTTE, sources said.

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