Sri Lanka Independence is Only for Sinhalese - Not for Tamils; Protest March by Univ Students From Jaffna to Batticaloa

* Military Attack Feared. - * Foreign Diplomats Urged as Observers. - * Tamils have been Systematically Abused Since Independence 75 Years Ago.

BATTICALOA, SRI LANKA, February 3, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the Sri Lankan Government is organizing an elaborate and colorful 75th Independence Day Celebrations, Tamils in North and Eastern Provinces are planning to shut down and hoist black flags to mourn the Independence Day.

Jaffna and Batticaloa University students are organizing a huge black-flag four-day long march from Jaffna University to Batticaloa University. The march will begin on the Independence Day of February 4th from Jaffna University and will reach Batticaloa University on the 7th, where a declaration will be made high-lighting Tamil's demands.

+ WATCH the Announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD4jW_oZr54&feature=youtu.be

The student led protest march will be joined by Tamil victim groups including families of the disappeared, Hindu and Christian religious leaders, Tamil Civil Society groups, Tamil women groups, Tamil trade unions, Tamil farmers & Fisheries organizations, and others.

Since there are serious concerns that huge military presence in Tamil areas will be used to disrupt and attack the marchers, students have urged foreign missions to send diplomats as observers.

The March will highlight "Forced Marriage" between Sinhalese and Tamils to live together by the departing British, who merged Tamil and Sinhala Kingdoms in 1833 for easy administrative purposes.

Tamils have been systematically abused and targeted for their Tamil ethnic identity since independence 75 years ago, starting from making half the Tamil population stateless, followed by Sinhala as the only official language, and race-based University admissions that severely discriminated Tamil students. Tamils periodically faced state supported anti-Tamil pogroms including in 1958, 1977 and 1983 resulting in thousands of Tamils killed and Tamil women sexually assaulted and raped. According to UN around 70 thousand Tamils were killed in six months in 2009. So far no one have been held accountable for these atrocity crimes.

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