SL Police in Champoor blocks remembrance of Tamils massacred by SL military

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 July 2018, 19:56 GMT]
The occupying Sinhala Army of genocidal Sri Lanka indiscriminately massacred more than 130 Eezham Tamils in Moothoor East in Trincomalee district on 07th and 08th of July in 1990, launching a so-called cordon and search operation. The people of Champoor and other villages commemorate the massacre victims every year. Last year, they marked the event on 07 July at the presence of TNA Parliamentarian K Thurairatnesingham putting up a basic structure in remembrance of those who perished. This year, the SL Police informed the people on Friday that it has prohibited the memorial event, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday. The United States Indo-Pacific Command is grooming the marine force of genocidal Sri Lanka at Champoor.

The new headquarters of ‘Sri Lanka Marine’, also known as SLNS Vidura, was declared opened in Champoor a year ago in July 2017. Since then, the SL Police, STF and SL Navy have occupied more lands, brought in ‘Army and Archaeology’ and enforced rigid surveillance on war-affected Eezham Tamils in Champoor.

After the SL police informed the villagers that they could not mark remembrance, the people sought the help of grassroots activists and went back to the SL police station, where they were told that the monument had been constructed at state property.

The villagers have put up a small monument less than three feet in length and six feet in height. The people have also gathered the details of 97 of the massacre victims from Champoor, Cheanai-oor and Kaddai-pa'richchaan. The details of around 65 victims are yet to be gathered from Paaddaa'lipuram, the villagers said.

The SL police, blocking the remembrance event to be marked at the site of the monument, didn't even have any documentary evidence to prove its claim that the memorial is situated in public land, the villagers said. Furthermore, there was no complaint lobbed by anyone, the villagers stated.

When confronted by the grassroots activists raising the above question, the SL Police said written permission from the Divisional Council was needed to allow the event to proceed, knowing that it was impossible for the villagers to acquire such a letter on short-notice.

The villagers were pleading with the SL Police until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

While planting ‘victory’ monuments and Buddha statues in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils, even a small monument in remembrance of the innocent Tamil civilians massacred by the SL military is prohibited. The conduct is just another example of how the occupying Colombo is implementing ‘transitional justice’ in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils, grassroots activists in Trincomalee commented.

It is under these circumstances the USINDOPACOM is grooming ‘Sri Lanka marines’ in the former LTTE stronghold of Champoor, where Eezham Tamils are deprived of their fundamental rights, including the ownership to their land.

The STF is regularly roaming the jungles along Champoor almost daily in the recent days, the villagers further complain.

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