Sri Lankan Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Sivagnanam Sritharan has called on the government to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and allow Tamil communities to commemorate those who died during the country’s civil war.
Sritharan, a Jaffna District MP representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), made the demand in Parliament on Tuesday, arguing that the continued prohibition on the LTTE was incompatible with what he described as a fair approach to reconciliation and remembrance.
“If you are a fair government, lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and grant Tamil people the right to remembrance,” he said.
Sritharan contrasted restrictions on Tamil commemorations with the presence of monuments associated with the military’s victory over the LTTE. Referring to several locations, he said military victory monuments had been erected at Elephant Pass, in front of Parliament, in Mullivaikkal, Jaffna and Kilinochchi.
He questioned why Tamil commemorative symbols could not receive similar recognition, particularly a statue of Thileepan, an LTTE member who died after undertaking a fast-unto-death in 1987.
“Yet, why is it impossible to erect a statue for Thileepan, who sacrificed his life through a fast-unto-death?” Sritharan asked. He said police had forcibly removed a statue of Thileepan erected in Nallur and questioned what threat such a memorial posed to the country’s peace.
“What harm does Thileepan’s statue cause to the peace of this country?” he said.
Sritharan also criticised what he described as an imbalance between the commemoration of military personnel and the ability of Tamil people to remember their own dead. He said military victory symbols and military badges had been permitted while Tamil communities continued to face restrictions on remembering relatives who died during the conflict.
“Why can you not grant permission for people of that ethnicity to remember their deceased relatives?” he said.
The MP further argued that circumstances had changed substantially since the end of the war. He noted that 17 years had passed since the conflict ended and said there had been no renewed bombing or armed campaign by Tamil youth against the military.
“Even now in this country, the ban against the Liberation Tigers remains in force,” Sritharan said. “It has been 17 years since the war ended, and not a single bomb sound has been heard here. No Tamil youth has picked up a gun against the military. In that case, why do you still maintain that draconian ban?”
He called on the government to remove the LTTE prohibition as what he described as a first step towards creating peace and improving relations between communities.
“If you are a fair government, first remove the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and create peace,” he said. “Foster good intentions among the people. True change lies in that.”
Sritharan said a genuine transformation for Tamils would require removing restrictions imposed on Tamil communities and on those who had fought on their behalf.
