The people of Iranativu today urged the government to withdraw the decision to COVID victims’s bodies in Iranativu saying that they had to peacefully protest for some 395 days to return to the island after the war. They stated that the island is native to a total of 417 families, while most of the people in the island fled it and settled in Mulangavil area in Kilinochchi in 1997. In 2016, they had started campaigns for the resettlement and were granted permission to resettle in 2018. “On 23rd of April 2018, on the 395th day of our sit on protest, by our own initiation we crossed the sea by 50 fishing boats holding white flags and landed in our island village without any hindrance from the naval forces. At present we gradually restore our lives in the island with several hardships,” they stated. They also stated that it was impractical to bury bodies in Iranativu due to the distance from the Mulangavil mainland to the island. They revealed that it takes one and a half hours to travel there, as the weather is usually unfavourable and sea travel is prevented. They further expressed their opinion that they stand up for the burial rights of the Muslim community and voice against the forced cremations. “We emphasize that the dead bodies must be given due respect according to the culture of our country and according to the universal humanitarian values. Transporting the bodies of COVID victims from place to place is a violation of the dignity of those deceased as well as their families,” they said.