COLOMBO, Sept. 28 -- Demonstrations broke out across all eight districts of Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern Provinces on Monday (28) following the police removal of a statue honouring former Tamil militant figure Thileepan from his memorial site in Nallur, Jaffna.

Organized by the Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in the North and East, the rallies drew relatives of missing persons, civil society activists, religious leaders, politicians, and local residents. Protesters chanted slogans and displayed placards criticizing the police and the administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, demanding the monument's immediate reinstallation.

Police removed the statue on September 27 at the conclusion of annual commemorative even...