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Fact Check
A viral image, claiming to be from a 2026 Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day event in Sri Lanka, shows a child in an LTTE uniform, along with a man wearing a scarf featuring an image of Tamil Eelam.
The viral image is not from a 2026 Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day event in Sri Lanka. The image is from Tamil Nadu, India, during a May 18 commemoration event organised by the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK).
A viral image on Facebook is being shared with claims that it is from a 2026 Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day event in Sri Lanka. The photo purportedly shows a child in an LTTE uniform and a man wearing a scarf featuring text and an image of Tamil Eelam.
The posts include sarcastic Sinhala captions, such as: “It is not good to say anything to commemorate the innocent unarmed Tamil people who died in Mullivaikkal,” along with hashtags like “#Mullivaikkal #May18 #SinhalaKoti.” Another post states, “Don’t you want to beat up those who voted to bring them (NPP) in?”, suggesting that the current government is supporting public displays of LTTE symbols. Another post also claims: “The state army became terrorists, the tiger became a hero.. A year and a half of renaissance..”
The posts can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
To verify the claim, a keyword search using “Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day” and “LTTE Symbols in Sri Lanka” in English, Tamil, and Sinhala was conducted, but no credible news reports supporting the claim were found.
A reverse image search traced the viral photo to an X post by an account named Senthan Guru on May 18, 2026, with the Tamil caption: “The little tiger member who caught everyone’s attention at the May 18 meeting in Maraimalai Nagar.”
The same image was also shared on the user’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with similar captions. The image was originally taken during a May 18 commemoration event held in Maraimalai Nagar, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India, organised by the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) political party. We learnt that Senthan Guru, according to his Facebook profile, is from the NTK’s IT Cell.
The Naam Tamilar Katchi is a Tamil nationalist political party active in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, led by Senthamizhan Seeman. The party is known for its ideological stance on Tamil identity, Tamil Eelam, and its support for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day is observed to commemorate Tamil civilians killed during the final stages of the war in Mullivaikkal in 2009. The event is marked by communities in Sri Lanka and around the world.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a banned organisation under Clause 27 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1978 in Sri Lanka. Public displays of LTTE symbols, including flags, uniforms, emblems, portraits, and photographs, are illegal in Sri Lanka. While commemorations for civilian victims are permitted, they are restricted from including LTTE symbols.
This situation has also led to public debate regarding interpretations of such imagery and the political context surrounding remembrance events.
The viral image claiming to show a person and a child at the 2026 Mullivaikkal remembrance event in Sri Lanka, with the child wearing an LTTE uniform and the adult wearing a scarf featuring Tamil Eelam imagery, is false. The image was taken in Maraimalai Nagar, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India, during a May 18 commemoration event organised by the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) in 2026.
FAQs
1. Was the viral image taken in Sri Lanka?
No. The image was taken in Tamil Nadu, India, during a May 18 commemoration event.
2. Does Sri Lanka allow people to commemorate Mullivaikkal remembrance events using LTTE symbols?
No. In Sri Lanka, public displays of LTTE symbols such as flags, uniforms, emblems, portraits, and photographs are prohibited under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. While Mullivaikkal remembrance events are allowed to commemorate civilian victims, they must not include LTTE-related symbols.
3. Where was the image originally shared from?
The image was originally shared on social media platforms, including X, Facebook, and Instagram, by an account named Senthan Guru, and traced back to an NTK-organised event in Tamil Nadu.
Our Sources
X post published on May 18, 2026, by Senthan Guru.
Facebook post published on May 18, 2026, by Senthan Guru.
Instagram post published on May 18, 2026, by Senthan Guru.
False
