Aluth Parapura commemorates brotherhood over war victory

• Invites people to sing National Anthem eitherin Sinhala or Tamil

By Jayashika Padmasiri

The Aluth Parapura organisation yesterday held a vigil to commemorate ‘Brotherhood Day,’ emphasising that war only had an ending and not a victory. At the vigil, they invited people to sing the Sri Lankan National Anthem either in Sinhala or in Tamil.  

This unique vigil was held yesterday at the Viharamahadevi Park, with civil society, university lecturers and artistes gathering to commemorate brotherhood on the sixth anniversary of the war victory. 

The vigil was held with the purpose of promoting the idea that the end of war should not be considered a ‘victory’ but as a day to commemorate brotherhood. 

Colombo University Lecturer Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri who was present at this event told the Daily FT that programs such as these were necessary because when people celebrate war as victory, it stimulates the question “where is our people’s social and political conscience?”

Meanwhile, Attorney-at-Law and former Convener of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) Udul Premaratne who was also present at the vigil told the Daily FT: “During the previous regime, the tombstones of some of those who died in the north due to the war were destroyed to build a supermarket. Events like this are vital in our country, as those people would have cried a thousand times silently when such incidents took place.” 

Premaratne added that although it has been several years after the war, Sri Lankan authorities had still not discussed why the war took place in the first place or addressed the issues that led to it.