Sri Lanka Briefing note, May 25 2014
Sunanda Deshapriya
Celebration of the War Victory Day
Sunanda Deshapriya
Celebration of the War Victory Day
The May 18 this year marked the
fifth anniversary of war victory by the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) over the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The day is celebrated as the annual War
Victory Day by the GoSL with a military parade and remembering the 'War
Heroes' (solders died in the war). Usually all diplomatic missions too are
invited to the celebration making it a state event. Further the month of May is
designated as the 'War
Heroes Commemoration Month ' by the GoSL.
The same day is named as Remembrance
Day by various Tamil groups and Tamil media in order to remember Tamils who
died in the final stages of the War. Tamil Diaspora groups call it Mullivaikkal
Remembrance Day. Mullivaikkal is a
village on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka where the final battle of
the civil war fought. Within Sri Lanka Tamil political parties and civil groups
organise religious and political events on 18th May - the
Remembrance Day.
This year GoSL celebrated the War
Victory Day (18th) in southern city of Matara with full scale military parade,
including tanks, artillery guns and fighter jets.
President
Rajapaksa speaking at the War Victory Day celebration said that "This
is not a victory of war, but a victory of peace. It was our armed forces that
liberated hundreds of thousands of people kept by the terrorists as
hostages" "To celebrate this great victory is a duty of a grateful
nation that gives utmost consideration to human values. Hence, irrespective of
objections from anyone, irrespective of who participates or not, we should
celebrate this great victory forever"
Aiming
at the diplomats of Western nations stayed away from the War Victory Day
President Rajapaksa stated that he would not bow to pressure from foreign critics
who are pushing him to investigate claims that tens of thousands of people died
in the final stages of the conflict.
"Some governments are blind, deaf and dumb. They are
opposed to our celebrating this victory," he said.
On the very next day (May 19) GoSL
held the War
Hero Commemoration Ceremony at the War Hero Cenotaph in Sri Jayewardenepura
Kotte with the participation of Ranaviru (war hero) family members.
The
Ministry of Defence reported that at the event 'beloved next of kin of
fallen War Heroes, many with their sons and daughters, queued up wailing and
recalling shared memories of yester year. They spoke in flowers and paid their
respect to the memory of their beloved ones as they knelt down at the foot of
the memorial.'
Suppression of the Remembrance Day
On the May 5, the Registrar of Jaffna University sent
out letters announcing the closure of the University from 16th to 20th May with
no explanation. On the May 7 leaflets were posted on the University premises
making death threats against professors and student leaders charging that they terrorism.
On the 8th May Major
General Udaya Perera told university officials, including the Vice
Chancellor, deans, and student leaders that no observance in the University
would be permitted on the May 18. Further he told them that any observance will
be considered as extolling the LTTE leader Prabhakaran and inducement to
terrorism.
This set the tone for suppressive
measures to be taken to block the Remembrance Day activities.
Earlier in the week the
military banned all temple events and public gatherings to commemorate the
dead, stating that no bells should toll on May 17 and 18.
On May 18 Military spokesman Ruwan
Wanigasuriya told media that no
public remembrance events would be allowed, but people would be allowed to
have private events in their homes.
Later Sri Lanka Police said that
remembrance event was prevented because it was a threat
to national harmony.
Police prevented elected
representatives of the Tamil people performing religious activities to remember
the dead. Member of the Northern Provincial Council, Mrs. Ananthi Sasitharan,
wife of a rebel leader missing since his Tamil Tiger separatists surrendered to
the army on May 18, 2009, was
not allowed to proceed to Keerimalai Hindu temple on the day and used "abusive language" to stop her.
At the Nallur Murugan temple,
one of the most important Hindu temples in Jaffna, military personal mingled with Tamil
opinion makers and people who gathered to perform religious rituals remembering
their dead. As shown by the video
footage posted by several Tamil online media, Tamil politicians were abused
and removed the coconuts forcibly by a civilian gang. Breaking coconut into shreds in front of
temples is an emotional expression of Saiva devotees
The office of the leading Tamil
daily published in Jaffna the Uthayan, was
surrounded by the military and the two entrances leading to the office from
the Navalar Road and Kasthuriyar Road were blocked. All those who entered the
road were questioned and some people were turned away. Another Tamil daily the Yal
Thinakkural office in Jaffna too was blocked by the military.
On the morning
of May 18, offices of the Tamil National
People's Front (TNPF) and the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) were blocked by the heavily armed solders.
Even the blood
donation campaigns were banned. The
Police had instructed the Jaffna
hospital not to assist such campaigns. Other hospitals also have been advised
not to accept blood donations. The military closed
the blood donation centre at Jaffna
teaching hospital to prevent people donating blood on the May 18.
Police officials trampled
on the floral tributes placed in front of the Northern Provincial Council
(NPC) Secretariat at Kaithadi remembering the dead. As shown by the short video
footage posted by online news media Police officers smashed
the camphor lamp lit by Tamil political leaders. Police
had barricaded the NPC building to prevent politicians entering to have a
remembrance event.
In
Vavuniya TNA MPs had booked the Cooperative Hall to conduct a commemorative
meeting, but the booking was cancelled on the instructions of the police. Later
a
remembrance meeting was held at the TNA Vavunia parliamentarian Mr.
Shivashakthi Anandan's office. In Mannar
too a small gathering and a religious event were held in remembering the dead.
In Kilinochchi the TNA
office was surrounded by the military
and prevented people entering the office to take part in a remembrance
event. People gathered at the Krishnan
Hindu Temple
to perform religious rituals in remembering the dead. Nprthern Provincial
member for Mulathiv held a small and
short remembrance event in Vanni amidst military intimidations.
TNA General Secretary Mavai
Senathirajah, speaking at the parliament on May 20 said that there will be
no meaning to the word reconciliation in Sri Lanka if even parliament cannot
commemorate Tamil victims of the war and questioned as to why only soldiers
killed during the war are commemorated on Victory Day on May 18 and not the
Tamil civilians who were also killed.
On the May 20 students of the University of Jaffna
held
a remembrance event. Jaffna University Teachers
Association (JUTA) President, Dr A. Rasakumaran was questioned
by the TID for his involvement in organising the remembrance event. An
open death threats were issued against the selected members of the teaching staff of the
University of Jaffna, Students leaders and journalists for over their attempts to remember the war
dead.
(Compiled by Sunanda Deshapriya for the
Sri Lanka Brief)