and the Five-Year Journey of the Pottuvil to Polikandy People’s Uprising Movement
by Pottuvil to Polikandy People’s Uprising, February 10, 2026
Pottuvil to Polikandy – in pictures, Tamil Guardian, February 8, 2021. Photo credit: I Sivathasan
After the Tamil people’s liberation struggle, which marched forward with
determination until 2009, was brought down through injustice and betrayal, false
propaganda was introduced claiming that the Eelam Tamil nation had abandoned
its political aspirations and was seeking only development. It was at that very
moment that the fallen Tamil nation rose again with renewed courage and raised
its voice for its rights — a historic and dignified event embodied in the People’s
Uprising from Pottuvil to Polikandy.
Inspired by the thoughts of our national poet Puduvai Rathnathurai and carrying
the verses titled “From Pottuvil to Polikandy,” the people’s uprising marched
resolutely from Pottuvil, the southernmost point of Tamil Eelam, to Polikandy,
the northernmost boundary. At a time when the Sinhala state believed it had
subdued the Tamil people by stationing military forces and intelligence personnel
across the North and East and turning the region into an open prison, this uprising
stood as a direct challenge to that assertion. It was also a firm declaration to the
international community that we are not a people who would trade our rights for
concessions.
Born out of this mass uprising, the Pottuvil to Polikandy People’s Upraising
Movement now completes five years since its inception. During these five years,
governments in the Sinhala polity have changed. Two executive presidents have
left office, and a third is now in power. However, the agenda of Buddhist Sinhala
domination has continued without interruption and at the same pace.
Today, once again under the guise of offering a political solution to the ethnic
conflict, new schemes are unfolding that seek to deceive the Eelam Tamil people.
The Tamil nation is not prepared to be deceived again. On that basis, and to
confront the challenges laid before us, we put forward the following demands:
If the Sri Lankan government and the Sinhala state genuinely intend to take
meaningful steps toward resolving the ethnic conflict, the following measures
must be undertaken as a starting point:
1. The Sri Lankan military stationed throughout the Tamil homeland in the
North and East must be withdrawn, and normalcy must be restored in the
Tamil homeland.
2. International crimes committed against the Tamil people, including
genocide and enforced disappearances, must be permitted to be
investigated through an international accountability mechanism.
3. State-sponsored Buddhisisation and land appropriation in the Tamil
homeland must immediately cease. Illegally constructed Buddhist viharas
must be removed, and lands forcibly seized from Tamil owners must be
returned to their rightful owners.
4. The Prevention of Terrorism Act must be repealed, and all Tamil political
prisoners must be released.
5. The Sixth Amendment must be repealed in order to create a genuine
political space for the Tamil people.
Furthermore, any country wishing to act as a mediator in the ethnic issue must
demonstrate its neutrality by:
1. Recognising the Eelam Tamils as a distinct nation.
2. Acknowledging the genocide committed against the Eelam Tamil people
by the Sri Lankan state.
Moreover, any permanent solution to the ethnic conflict must be determined
through a referendum conducted among the Eelam Tamil people under
international supervision and monitoring. This alone will pave the way for lasting
peace on this island.
The pledge of the Pottuvil to Polikandy People’s Uprising affirms that the just
demands of the Tamil people —
• Our traditional homeland
• The right to self-determination
• Tamil nationhood
— must be recognised.
Additionally, international justice must be delivered for the genocide committed
against the Tamil nation, and for the continuing acts of genocide.
We reaffirm our commitment that our struggle will continue until the Tamil
nation flourishes.
Thank you.
Rev. Fr. Joseph Mary
President
Thavathiru Velan Swamigal
Chief Coordinator