Colombo: Sri Lanka, still reeling under the scars of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, Saturday marked 10 years of the end of the nearly brutal civil war between the government and the LTTE even as it came under criticism for failing to ensure justice for the victims.
The Sri Lankan government May 18, 2009 killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in the coastal village of in Mullaittivu, bringing to an end the bloody armed conflict fought mainly in the north and east of the island nation.
At least 1,00,000 people were killed in the over three-decade-long conflict. Thousands of people, including security personnel, are still reported to be missing after the war.
Hundreds of people gathered in parts of Northern Sri Lanka to remember the victims of the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.
The anniversary falls nearly a month after Easter Sunday bombings, the worst terror attack in the country that killed 258 people and injured over 500 others.
The government will commemorate the war heroes during the Victory Day celebrations Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
It asked the public to light a ‘Lamp of Peace’ in the memory of those who laid down their lives for the country.
“To coincide with the ‘Dasavarshikabhisheka’ commemoration, it is requested from the general public to light a ‘Lamp of Peace’….,” the Ministry said in a statement.
INDIAN INTERVENTION
- From August 1983 until May 1987, the Indian government through, its intelligence agency RAW, provided arms, training and monetary support to six Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups including LTTE
- LTTE’s rise is widely attributed to the initial backing it received from RAW