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A hartal protest in Sri Lanka’s North and East on August 15, sparked by the death of a Mullaitivu youth allegedly in a military attack, is now gaining support from key political and trade union leaders in the hill country.
The leader of the Kandurata People’s Front and deputy leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance, V. Radhakrishnan, announced that his party will fully support the hartal movement planned for August 15 in the North and East against the army.
Speaking to the media on the 12th, Radhakrishnan said that with the Ceylon Workers’ Congress already backing the protest, it was essential for his party and the plantation community to extend their support. He stressed that solidarity from the hill country was vital to strengthen the movement.
The protest has been called in response to the death of Athiramannasingham Kapilraj, a 32-year-old from Mullaitivu, who was reportedly killed in a military attack in the Muttu Ayankattu area on August 7. His body was discovered in a pond in Muttu Ayankattu on August 9.
In the wake of the incident, the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) announced a hartal in the North and East, urging trade union leaders representing plantation workers to join. The call has now been met with strong political backing from multiple parties in the central highlands, signalling a broad coalition of dissent.
