JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department questioned the mayor of Jaffna for about two hours on Wednesday over the installation of a statue in Nallur honoring Thileepan, a political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who died on a hunger strike in 1987.
Four C.I.D. officers went to the Jaffna Municipal Council office and recorded a statement from the mayor, V. Mathivathani, on how permission for the statue had been granted. She was asked whether she had approved its installation knowing that Thileepan had been a member of the L.T.T.E.
The officers asked about the statue’s design and where it had been made. They also sought the council resolution that authorized it and the names of the councillors who were present when it was passed.
On the same day, the public security minister, Ananda Wijepala, told Parliament that the police had recorded statements from 14 people, including politicians, in connection with the statue.
The statue was put up during the annual commemoration of Thileepan’s death. He began a fast at Nallur in September 1987, demanding that India honor commitments it had made on the rights and security of Tamils in Sri Lanka, and died on Sept. 26 after 12 days without food or water.
