A Day of Remembrance

19 May marks the day Sri Lanka’s 26-year brutal civil war ended 13 long years ago. Rather than making it a day of remembrance, reflection and reconciliation that could unite a country in its shared grief and a day that would enhance the resolve of the country to avoid such calamities in the future, this day has now become a divisive event by itself, a majoritarian ‘victory day’ for some while a ‘genocide remembrance day’ for others.

Civil wars do leave many unhealed wounds. Unlike wars with external forces, a civil war can scar a country for generations. Wars with external aggressors are often sources of unity for a defending country while civil wars often perpetuate the divisions and animosities within a country and seldom offer closure even when the guns and cannons fall silent. 160 years since the end of the American Civil War there are still reverberations of that conflict even today. The fault lines that divided the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy still echo in the debates over race, limits of authority of the federal government or even socio-religious issues.

The civil war in our own country has been framed in numerous ways. The South framed it as a contest for the territorial integrity of the land fought between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan State. Yet the fundamental cause of the conflict was the alienation of the Tamil community from the governance of the State since independence. Whichever perspective the conflict is seen, what is undeniable is the enormous human cost of the conflict. At least 28,000 personnel from the security forces and police sacrificed their lives for this cause. An equal number of LTTE cadres and tens of thousands of civilians, mostly Tamils, were also killed. Many more were wounded. All these persons were citizens of Sri Lanka and deserve to be remembered. 

However difficult these discussions may be, they must be had and the nation allowed to heal from the wounds that have been inflicted on its citizenry. The acknowledgement of the human cost, especially the deaths of civilians during the final phase must be in the very least acknowledged. In cases where there were deliberate killings of civilians those responsible must be held accountable.

In this regard marking 19 May as a Day of Remembrance is an important step towards healing the many wounds left festering for the last 13 years. While this year the catastrophic economic situation may prevent the Government from having a triumphalist ‘victory day’ celebration there is still room for outreach and healing. One of the important aspects in this regard is not interfering with the remembrance events that would be organised in the North and the East to remember the many thousands of civilians who perished in the last few months of the war. Naturally there will be a political element to these events and even attempts to glorify the LTTE. However, such attempts would only succeed if the Sri Lankan State proves that it cannot offer the space for such remembrance. 

As we mark the end of the catastrophic war on 19 May, let us all remember the enormous human cost that it took. The loss of a whole generation of men and women and Sri Lanka’s lost opportunity towards economic progress and prosperity. Let it be a day of reflection and a moment of determination that such a calamity should never befall this island again. Let it be a day of healing for all of us.