Shillong: Sri Lankan police hauled away a bronze statue of Rasiah Parthipan, known as Thileepan, from Nallur in Jaffna on Sunday. Officials acted after receiving a formal complaint regarding the commemoration of a man tied to a proscribed organization. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, remains a banned group in Sri Lanka, India, and several other nations.
Parthipan stood as a key political figure for the LTTE during the separatist conflict in the northern and eastern regions of the country. He died on September 26, 1987, after staging a 10-day hunger strike. He is still viewed by many as a symbol of Tamil resistance. A ceremony to honor him began on September 18 at the Nallur site.
Police spokesman F T Wootler stated, "The bronze statue was removed following a complaint that an individual belonging to a proscribed organisation was being commemorated." Before the removal, attendees protested against police orders banning loudspeakers at the event. This statue had faced repeated vandalism in previous years, with government troops often blamed for the destruction. Sri Lanka first outlawed the LTTE in 1998.
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