Following several Maaveerar Naal celebrations being disrupted by the Police Department, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of the Parliamentary Opposition said that the Government’s double standard policy on the truth and reconciliation mechanism is disclosed by its suppression of such memorialisations.

On Monday (27), a commemoration of Maaveerar Naal held in Batticaloa to remember the deaths of militants who fought with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the civil war, had been reportedly disrupted by the Police.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (28), TNA Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that this country would not go forward or prosper if its Government does not allow even this kind of remembrance which could be a better way of reconciliation. He also said that the Government’s dual appearance in matters related to truth and reconciliation was proved by such incidents.

Expressing that this particular celebration is not to celebrate the LTTE but to remember all the civilians who lost their lives during the three-decade ethnic conflict, MP Rasamanickam also said that everyone in the country has a right to commemorate his/her loved ones, and that therefore, no one can obstruct such commemorations being organised. 

He said that it seems that the Government is yet to accept the rights of the Tamils even though they are planning to establish the so-called Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the issues faced by the Tamils. He said that in his perspective, as a politician who represents the country’s Legislature, this type of action by any Government or the majority of the people would hamper the reconciliation mechanism in that particular country.

Maaveerar Naal is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamils to remember the deaths of militants who fought with the LTTE and Tamils to achieve an independent Tamil homeland.