A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, May 24, 2017
SRI LANKA: MEMORIALISATION IS PART OF THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS – NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL
Image: Eastern Uni students observed Mullivaaikaal commemoration inside campus premises on 18th May. @garikaalan.
23/05/2017
(NPC) The court injunction against a commemoration in Mullivaikkal in
the North of those who lost their loved ones in the last battle of the
war on May 18 highlights a problem that needs resolution. In the South
the government commemorated the security forces personnel who lost their
lives in the war.
The police sought the court order to block the commemorative event
organized by a civil society group led by Fr Elil Rajendram that sought
to memorialize those who lost their lives in the last battle of the war
by placing stones with the names of those who lost their lives. At
present the Mullivaikkal area, where the last battle of the war was
fought, is without any monument to remember those who died there.
For the parents and family members of fallen LTTE cadre and others who
lost their lives during the war, they would still be their kith and kin
whom they wish to remember. All persons and communities have a right to
cry and grieve for family and community members killed, to erect
monuments, privately and publicly, individually and collectively. For
many families and friends whose loved ones were killed, this is a way to
heal their painful past and move towards the future.
The government needs to deal with the problem that there is no memorial
or monument in Mullivaikkal for those who lost their lives in the last
battles. There is a need for such a memorial and the government should
not prevent the people who lost their lives from having such a memorial.
There are memorials put up by the government to honor the security
forces who lost their lives in the North. The National Peace Council
calls on the government to take a step forward in the reconciliation
process and engage with both elected representatives in the North and
East and with civil society groups to jointly design an appropriate
memorial.
We also wish to express our concern at the treatment meted
out to Fr Elil Rajendram who was one of the main organizers of the
commemoration event. Fr Elil received summons from both the Vavuniya
and Mullaitivu police stations. This would most likely be to harass and
intimidate him and also to send a message to the other activists that
the same could happen to them too.
Such intimidatory methods were used during the period of the previous
government and were rejected by the people at the last elections. We
urge the government to be true to its pledges of good governance and
protection of human rights even when it deals with politically
controversial matters.