{"id":95801,"date":"2019-11-29T18:06:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T01:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95801"},"modified":"2019-11-29T18:06:59","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T01:06:59","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/29\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

From 2010 to 2014, Sri Lanka    held a celebration on May 18th to mark the\nend of the Eelam war. The celebrations were marked by a military parade,\nspeeches and a moment of silence. This celebration was known as \u2018Victory Day\u2019 .One\nway of erasing the Eelam victory, was to get rid of Victory Day and   Victory Parade.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our opponents criticize us for\ncelebrating Sri Lanka\u2019s victory over terrorism, said Mahinda Rajapaksa. They\ndon\u2019t want us to hold military parades, they say we are exploiting the war\nvictory for political gain and they demand that we stop recalling the war\nvictory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, Canada, on behalf of the\ninternational community, the TNA and the Tamil Diaspora, wanted Government of\nSri Lanka to replace its annual Victory Day Parade, with a day of remembrance\nfor all those who suffered as a result of the conflict. Victory Day perpetuates roles of victors and\nvanquished within the country, said Canada. \nThe Rajapaksa administration rejected the Canadian demand and went ahead\nwith the Matara parade. It was Sri Lanka\u2019s prerogative to engage in such\ncelebrations, the government said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada boycotted the 2014 parade. Canadian\nHigh Commissioner in Colombo, in a strongly worded statement, issued\nexclusively to \u2018The Island\u2019, explained the Canadian decision to do so. Five\nyears after the end of the conflict, the time has arrived for Sri Lanka to move\npast wartime discourse and to start working seriously towards reconciliation, the\nAmbassador said. It is time to mend\nrelations between communities and to ensure that all Sri Lankans can live in\ndignity and free from discrimination, based on ethnic, religious or linguistic identities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s own Lessons Learnt and\nReconciliation Commission report recommends that a solemn day of remembrance\nfor all victims of the war would be more conducive to sustaining peace here. Such\na gesture would go a long way towards putting wartime posturing behind Sri\nLanka. “I will not be in Matara, but I will be thinking and remembering\nall those who lost their loved ones over the 30-year conflict,\u201d concluded the Canadian ambassador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nJanuary 2015, Yahapalana\ngovernment cancelled the military parade held on victory day. For five years Sri Lanka didn\u2019t have a\nmilitary parade, observed Shamindra Ferdinando in 2019. Yahapalana government\nterminated the annual victory day parade, to the dismay of the vast majority of\nSri Lankans, he said. The\ncelebration was re-named Remembrance Day.\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The west\nopenly welcomed the change to a day of remembrance. So did the Global Tamil\nForum. Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake also supported the decision. These parades\nwere a source of great inconvenience for the  \nsoldiers, he said. There are many who like to come and watch these\nparades, but it is the soldiers who have to put in a great deal of effort to\nmake these parades a success, he said in 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, it\ncosts millions of rupees to hold such pageants. With the rise in fuel prices\nand the rising cost of living, how can we, being the armed forces who are paid\nby the public, have such functions with public funds, he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not\nthe time to blow our own trumpet and boast to the world that we are victorious,\nhe added.  We feel that\nthis is not the right way. Instead we would rather conduct religious activities\nthat would bring merit to the souls of these war heroes,\u201d he said. A series of\nprogrammes have been organized at every military establishment throughout the\ncountry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who\nsupported the Eelam victory did not agree. The cancellation was meant to\nappease those who couldn\u2019t stomach Sri Lanka\u2019s victory over the LTTE, they\nsaid. There is now an attempt to make us forget the war. There cannot be any\nother instance of a country depriving itself of its right to celebrate victory\nover terrorism . Shame on\nthose politicians who suspended the Victory Day celebrations, they declared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Navy Commander Sarath Weerasekera said that\nin May 2016 they had complained of the cancellation of the annual Victory Day\nparade by Yahapalana, while allowing the commemoration of LTTE cadres. No\ncountry would allow commemoration of terrorists having deprived the military of\nits right to celebrate victory, he said, this is an insult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is wrong\nwith Victory Day, the anti-Eelamists asked. Victory days are celebrated all\nover the world to ensure that memories of a just struggle are not forgotten.\nThere are  four victory days to celebrate\nthe World War II alone.  On 8 May when\nGermany surrendered, on Aug 15 the day Japan surrendered, on Sept 2 when the\ndocuments were signed in USA. Russia has a separate victory day parade to honor\nRussian soldiers who died in WWII.  Military\nhardware is  displayed at this parade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it wrong\nto celebrate our victory, supporters of the Victory asked.   Yes \nit is, said  the  Eelamists. World War  II is commemorated because it was a war\nbetween sovereign states, but the Eelam is a \u2018home and home quarrel\u2019 and should\nbe forgotten as soon as it is over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This issue\nwas debated in an opinion poll held by Sunday Times in 2014.  One respondent  said \nthat  Victory celebrations with\nmilitary pomp are usually reserved for victory against invader or  foreign aggressor. Sri Lanka\u2019s  conflict was in internal one, and those who\ndied were citizens of the country. \nThough it may have been necessary to defeat them, it is not necessary to\nhave victory parades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another said\nthat Victory celebrations  polarize the\ncommunity. There is no collective remembrance of loss. Instead there is  a reinforcement of the separation. Victory parades\nwould hamper reconciliation as well..<\/em>\nInstead of a victory parade, there should be an \nAmerican style Memorial Day. America holds this,  commentators said, to honor the Union soldiers\nwho died in the Civil war. This is incorrect. Memorial Day  in the USA\nremembers those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2018 the country was getting restive about Yahapalana rule.  Yahapalana  was its way out. The angry supporters of  the Victory parade had to be appeased if\nYahapalana was to win the next election. Therefore, Victory day was celebrated on 18.5.18. without\na military parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National War\nHeroes’ Day commemoration, headed by the President was held at National War\nHeroes’ Monument in Battaramulla, followed by a\nmega Army-supported ‘Aaloka Pooja’ Pinkama, in the  evening at Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya. The media showed\na  heartrending photograph of mothers\nweeping at this  commemoration ceremony\nand  gazing at their sons\u2019 names on the\nname board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a Ranaviru\nsamaruma at Parliament on 19.5.18. \nCommemorative events were also held \nat the Security Forces Headquarters, Division Headquarters, Forward\nMaintenance Areas, Regimental Centers, Army Training Schools, Units, Field\nHeadquarters and military rehabilitation centers. There were religious\nobservances at all regimental formations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were\ncommemorations at Anuradhapura, at  Nilwala Devalaya , Matara, in the Vanni,\n and the Vavuniya Pradeshiya sabha.  Corporal \nGamini Kularatne, Hasalaka hero,\u201d was remembered near\nhis statue in Elephant Pass. His mother attended the event. In\naddition, Security Forces Headquarters, Jaffna, organized a commemorative\nevent on May 4th.  Kurunegala military\nmemorial was opened on the 12 May. It has long panels on either side, with the\nnames of those who died. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 there was\na   low key armed forces victory\ncelebration . The government celebrated the event, on the afternoon of May\n19, 2019, at the War Heroes\u2019 monument, at Battaramulla with the participation\nof President Maitripala Sirisena, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition\nLeader Mahinda Rajapaksa. Commentators pointed out that it was Mahinda\nRajapaksa \u2018s resolute political leadership ensured Sri Lanka\u2019s victory over the\nLTTE. Rajapaksa brought together a team that relentlessly conducted a nearly\nthree-year long combined forces offensive, until the LTTE collapsed on the\nVanni east front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government ignored all top\nex-Generals\/Officers who spearheaded the successful war effort.  Former  Defence Secretary  Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the then Army Commander\nField Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Navy Chief Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda and SLAF\nChief Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatileke, were  not invited to the Battaramulla event. A\nfurious Fonseka is believed to have turned down the invitation whereas\nothers didn\u2019t receive invitations. Sri Lanka\u2019s triumph over the LTTE would\nnever have been possible without their leadership. Their unparalleled\ncontribution made the victory possible, said Shamindra Ferdinando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  In the absence of a tri-services National\nVictory Day parade, the armed forces marked the day with a series of events in\nColombo and the provinces. Had there\nbeen a proper parade, each service would have had a headquarters element and\nseparate sections for Wanni, Eastern and Northern theatres. Instead, the seven\nArmy Commands, East, West  Central,\nWanni, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Jaffna, marked the day with a march on main\nroads on May 22, 2019.  The Kilinochchi\nCommand marched from Karadiyapokku Bridge to War Heroes monument in\nKilinochchi. The Navy had its main commemorative event at its Welisara base\nwhile the Air Force had none.  The print\nand electronic media didn\u2019t even bother to report events organized by the Army\nat Command level, observed Shamindra Ferdinando. ( Continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS From 2010 to 2014, Sri Lanka    held a celebration on May 18th to mark the end of the Eelam war. The celebrations were marked by a military parade, speeches and a moment of silence. This celebration was known as \u2018Victory Day\u2019 .One way of erasing the Eelam victory, was to get rid of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}