25

Sep

Elam Tamil Youth members  in Canada remember their hero

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Prabhjot Singh

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Toronto, Canada | Wednesday | 25 September 2024

Members of Sri Lanka’s Eelam Tamil Youth held a symbolic show to commemorate the 37th anniversary of their liberation fighter, Thileepan, also known as Rasaiah Parthipan Theelpan. They gathered at Queen's Park, here to educate Torontonians about Thileepan’s sacrifice and the Tamil genocide. They also observed a symbolic hunger strike for eight hours.

The Queen’s Park adjoining the Ontario Provincial Parliament building here has been a hot spot for protestors, especially of different nationalities fighting against their regimes at home, in support of their demands, including freedom and autonomy. Hardly any week passes when no such protest, demonstration or remembrance prayer is held at the Park.

Today, members of Elam Tamil set up informational boards at an intersection leading to  Queen’s Park besides spending a day speaking with people who walked throughout the area about the sacrifices of Thileepan.

Aarthi, a spokesperson of the Elam Tamil youth, was categoric in claiming herself as an Elam and not a Sri Lankan. Talking about Thileepan, she said that he aspired to become a medical professional and attended the University of Jaffna. He, however,  abandoned his future in medicine after witnessing the atrocities of the Black July pogrom in 1983. In response, he joined the Tamil liberation movement, where held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

 

Article at a Glance
Members of the Eelam Tamil Youth held a symbolic hunger strike at Queen's Park in Toronto to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Thileepan, a liberation fighter who sacrificed his life for the Tamil people. The event aimed to educate Torontonians about Thileepan's sacrifice and the Tamil genocide.
Thileepan, also known as Rasaiah Parthipan Theelpan, was a medical student who joined the Tamil liberation movement after witnessing the atrocities of the Black July pogrom in 1983. He held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and began a hunger strike in 1987, presenting five demands to the Indian government to honour the promises made to the Eelam Tamil people after the Indo-Lanka Accord.
Thileepan's demands included the release of Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, stopping the colonization of Tamil homeland, and the withdrawal of Sri Lankan army and police from Tamil villages. He passed away on September 26, 1987, 12 days into his hunger strike, without receiving a response from the Indian government.
The Eelam Tamil Youth continues to honour Thileepan's sacrifice and follow his demands. They believe that his sacrifice will not be in vain and that they will continue to fight for the rights and freedoms of the Eelam Tamil people.

 

When asked about the election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the new President of Sri Lanka, she said that it does not make a difference to them – Elam Tamil Youth – as they all are the same.

While telling the background, Aarthi said Thileepan passed away on September 26, 1987, 12 days into his hunger strike. The hundreds of thousands of people from across the country who were at his side through his hunger strike witnessed his final moments as he lay in a critical state. Determined to seek justice for his people and his land, Thileepan began his hunger strike with the hope of eliciting a response from the Indian government. However, as his condition worsened no response came to address his demands. Thileepan ultimately completed his 265-hour fast without food or water, before passing away.

“On September 13 Thileepan, she said,  presented five demands to the Indian government, urging it to honour the promises made to the Eelam Tamil people after the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed in July 1987. The accord, signed between the Indian and Sri Lankan governments without any input from Eelam Tamil parties aimed to create provincial councils and merge the northern and eastern provinces into a single administrative unit, contradictory to the Eelam Tamil's goal of the separate state of Tamileelam. In return, Eelam Tamils were asked to surrender their arms to the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) within 72 hours, contingent on the withdrawal of Sri Lankan state forces from these provinces.

“While the accord was intended to provide safety and solutions for the Eelam Tamil people, it ultimately prioritized weakening the Tamil armed struggle rather than addressing the core grievances of the Tamil community resulting in a weakening Meuse of the Tamileelam Liberation Struggle. The accord emphasized the preservation of Sri Lanka's territorial integrity and India's security, leading to its failure to deliver on its promises to the Tamil people.

“In response, the LTTE denounced the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, reiterating that only an independent state of Tamil Eelam would meet the aspirations of the Eelam Tamil people. In protest, Thileepan began his hunger strike, issuing five demands to the Indian government, calling for it to fulfil the pledges made to the Tamil community. It has now been 37 years since Thileepan began his fast unto death, sacrificing his life for the rights and freedoms of the Eelam Tamil people.

“He started his fast with the following five demands:

1. All Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be released

2. The colonization by Sinhalese in the Tamil homeland under the guise of rehabilitation should be immediately stopped

3. All such rehabilitation should be stopped until an interim government is formed

4. The Sri Lankan state should stop opening new police stations and army camps in the North and Eastern provinces

5. The Sri Lankan army and police should withdraw from schools in Tamil villages and the weapons given by the Sri Lankan state to “home guards” should be withdrawn under the supervision of the Indian army, “ Aarthi added holding that Elam Tamil would continue to follow and honour the sacrifice made by Thileepan.

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