Tamil communities in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces marked the 78th Independence Day as a day of protest, staging demonstrations and displaying black flags yesterday (4) in opposition to the Government.

Protests were reported from several areas including Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Ampara, where demonstrators displayed posters and raised black flags. Civil society activists and family members of the disappeared also took part in the protests.

Demonstrations were organised under various themes across the Northern and Eastern Provinces. In Vavuniya, protesters accused the Kivul Oya reservoir project of attempting to alter the demographic composition of traditionally Tamil-inhabited areas.

Student unions of the University of Jaffna, along with political parties and student organisations, called for a complete boycott of National Independence Day celebrations. They stated that despite 78 years since independence, the Tamil people had yet to receive what they described as genuine freedom or equality.

Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the Batticaloa District Member of Parliament representing the Ilankai Arasu Kachchi, said there was no justification for celebrating 78 years of independence when the Tamil people continued to lack freedom.

He said that while national Independence Day celebrations were held across the country — particularly in Colombo and the Eastern Province — the invitations extended to Tamil representatives only highlighted their continued grievances.

Rasamanickam said celebrating Independence Day without providing meaningful solutions to the national issues faced by the Tamil people was, in his view, a serious concern. He further alleged that even under the administration of the National People’s Power, the issue of Tamil freedom continued to be overlooked.

The protests took place amid heightened security and official Independence Day celebrations held elsewhere in the country.