Enforcing a court order that prohibits the public offering of Kanji (rice porridge) in remembrance of those massacred in the war 15 years ago and are yet to receive justice, the police have arrested four Tamils, including three women, who are now in remand prison.
Regional correspondents said that Kamaleswaran Vijitha (40), Kamaleswaran Vijitha (40), Selvavinothkumar Sujani (40), and Navaretnaraja Hariharakumar (43), who were violently arrested by the police on the night of 12 May (Sunday), were remanded for 14 days by the Mutur Magistrates Court.
Residents of the area have videoed male officers in police uniform dragging the arrested women along the ground in an inhumane manner.
On the morning of 12 May, residents of the area had made arrangements to prepare kanji in front of the Pillaiyar Kovil in Sampur, Trincomalee, to remember their loved ones who were killed 15 years ago.
However, officers of the Sampur Police Station arrived at the venue with a court order which bans the remembrance of those who died in Mullivaikkal as well as public gatherings and the distribution of food and beverages relating to the same. When the police officers attempted to hand over the court order to those who had gathered there, they refused to accept it, adding that kanji was being prepared with the sole intention of remembering their relatives who died in the war.
Taking into account a request made by the Officer-in-Charge of the Sampur Police Station, who is the complainant in case no. A 12 211/24, and in accordance with Section 106(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Mutur Magistrates Court on 12 May issued an order prohibiting the distribution of kanji and the Mullivaikkal remembrance.
The serving of ‘Mullavaikkal kanji’ had been organized in the north and east to recall how tens of thousands of Tamils managed to survive amid government sanctions barring food and medicine, and in remembrance of those who died from heavy weapon bombardment, starvation, and disease during the final stages of the war.
The court order was issued mainly against the gathering of people in public places such as schools, temples…etc., with the intention of commemorating those who died in Mullivaikkal, illegal gathering of people in a manner that disturbs the public, and the gathering of people for distribution of food, utensils, or porridge, any drink, or any other activity which may adversely affect the health and life of the people so as to cause disease.
In this context, a 14-day ban on such activities has been imposed on Maveerar Sangam President Kandiah Kandeepan, Maveerar Sangam Vice President Shanthalingam Gopi Rasa, Mutur Maveer Sangam Secretary Selvavinothkumar Sujani, members of the Maveerar Sangam, and other persons.
Mullavaikkal Kanji (முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் கஞ்சி)
During the final stages of the war, tens of thousands of Tamils were confined to a strip of coastal land designated as a No Fire Zone (NFZ) by the government, to be bombed by shell, areal, and artillery attacks, and denied access to medicine. The sole sustenance for survival was the porridge immortalized as ‘Mullavaikkal Kanji’.
It consisted of rice boiled in water. When possible, a pinch of salt was added
This year’s Tamil Genocide Week commenced in the North and East on 11 May, and it involved the giving out of kanji prepared with rice collected from households. The week ends with a mass memorial held in Mullavaikkal on 18 May, where participants’ loved ones denied justice even 15 years after the war are remembered.
According to the United Nations’ (UN) estimates, at least 70,000 unarmed people have died in the war. Successive Sri Lankan governments have refused these statistics.
