Protests have erupted across Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north and east over the rape and murder of an 18-year-old Tamil student in Punguduthivu, a small island west of the Jaffna Peninsula.
Vithya Sivalohanathan, an advanced-level student from Punguduthivu College disappeared on May 13 after leaving for school. Her body was later found in an abandoned house. She had been raped. Police have so far arrested four people suspected of committing the gruesome crime.
On May 15, students and teachers in Punguduthivu protested over the murder while demanding protection for all students. Campaigns have also been held at several other places throughout Jaffna.
On May 13, Wednesday, the day the murder suspects were scheduled to appear in court, a “hartal” was observed across the Jaffna district; schools and businesses were closed and vehicles went off the road. Thousands of people gathered at various places in Jaffna to express their anger, including near the court premises. Many people suspect that criminal gangs are operating throughout the region with the backing of the security forces.
Police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators as the suspects were brought to the court.
About 130 people were arrested during the protests, accused of throwing stones and damaging public property. Demonstrations were also held on May 21 in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaithivu and Mannar districts in the North Province, and Batticaloa and Trincomalee towns in the Eastern Province.
The government of President Maithripala Sirisena sent Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police N. K. Ilangakoon to Jaffna to “assess” the situation and “instruct for further actions.”
Various Tamil politicians, including those from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), have demanded the death penalty for those found guilty of last week’s murder. Ruling UNP parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheswaran also called for “public execution of the killers.”
Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran issued a statement condemning those accused of damaging property during the protests. “In this situation,” Wigneswaran said, “we must cooperate with the police [and] not see them as an enemy. It is very clear that there are some malicious people looking for a fight by creating disagreements between us and the police, and trying to sabotage the situation.”
However, Sinhala extremists groups like the Jathika Hela Urumaya, (JHU), have seized on the protests to whip up anti-Tamil chauvinism, claiming that the defeated LTTE is behind the demonstrations.
The JHU has called on the police and the military to impose “law and order” in the North.
Referring to the protests in Jaffna, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a public meeting in the rural town of Mahiyangana: “The LTTE too began in a similar fashion. This is a dangerous situation. Therefore the police should act immediately. The law should take its course, whether it is the North or the South of the country.” Hinting at LTTE involvement, Rajapaksa declared the demonstrations were “well organised.”
Rajapaksa is attempting to make a political come-back by whipping up anti-Tamil chauvinism. Likewise, the Sirisena government faces a deepening economic and political crisis and is exploiting communal tensions to divide the working masses and defend capitalist rule.
