One of the largest public demonstrations in recent years brought the Mannar district to a standstill on Monday, as thousands of Tamils joined a general strike against a controversial wind farm project and to condemn what they described as a brutal assault by Sri Lankan police on peaceful demonstrators last week.
Shops in the bustling Mannar Bazaar remained closed from early morning, fishing boats stayed docked, and private transport services were suspended as part of the district-wide hartal. By mid-morning, crowds gathered at the Mannar Public Playground before marching through the town in a show of mass defiance.
Protesters denounced the construction of wind turbine towers, which they say continues despite years of opposition from local communities. They also voiced anger over environmentally destructive sand mining in the area and demanded accountability for the violent crackdown carried out by police and Special Task Force personnel just two days earlier.
The rally, which drew support from civil society groups in Colombo and the Northern Province, moved through General Hospital Road, past the Mannar police station, and converged outside the Mannar District Secretariat. There, organisers handed over a letter addressed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, calling for an immediate halt to the wind project and legal action against the officers responsible for the recent violence.
As the protest intensified, riot police were deployed and tensions briefly flared. However, religious leaders intervened to prevent escalation, urging demonstrators to continue their protest peacefully in the town’s central bazaar.
Monday’s events brought together fisherfolk, farmers, clergy, activists and political figures in a rare show of unity. They accused the government of pushing forward with large-scale infrastructure and extractive projects without the consent or consultation of local Tamil communities.
The hartal underscored growing resentment over what protesters say is a pattern of state-backed development imposed at the expense of local livelihoods and rights, and marked a renewed call for justice and self-determination in the Northern Province.
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