New Delhi: ‘Heroes’ Day’ celebrations to commemorate rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who were killed in Sri Lanka’s civil war was banned on Friday after the Rajapaksa dispensation appealed in court, AFP has reported.
Tamil separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which led an armed rebellion for 37 years against the Sri Lankan government to set up a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern province of the island nation was defeated by the Sri Lankan army in May 2009.
On May 19, 2009, the formal end to the bloody separatist war was signalled with the discovery of the body of the feared LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was defence chief then and his brother Mahinda was president.
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Sri Lanka marks the anniversary of its victory over the LTTE with state ceremony in May. This time, celebrations were low key due to the pandemic.
Much before the victory, the Tamil Tigers had declared in the late 1980s that November 27 would be their Heroes’ Day, reported AFP. The day was chosen to remember Shankar, the first LTTE militant killed by Sri Lankan security forces in 1982.
However, celebrating Heroes’ Day was banned under the Rajapaksas.
Once Mahinda was voted out of office in 2015, the ban on Tamils celebrating their fallen soldiers was revoked.
According to a report on The Hindu, petitioning different courts in the war-affected districts in the last week, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General Department sought prohibition orders on the commemoration. They argued that such a commemoration will lead to a revival of the LTTE.
Sri Lanka’s human rights record, particularly over the impunity enjoyed by law enforcement officers, has been the subject of international condemnation.
The UN Human Rights Council has called for an international probe into the alleged war crimes during the military conflict with the LTTE.
According to the government figures, around 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts, including the war with Lankan Tamils which claimed at least 100,000 lives.
(With PTI inputs)