Colombo permits LTTE remembrance as JVP–Tamil dialogue unfolds in London

In developments that are bound to affect Sri Lanka’s turbulent politics, a top leader of its ruling party held a path-breaking meeting with the Tamil diaspora in London even as Colombo allowed Tamils in the island’s north and east to hold mass gatherings to mourn those dead in the Tamil separatist campaign.

'Maveerar Naal' commemorations

On Thursday (November 27) evening, tens of thousands braved inclement weather to attend dozens of meetings across predominantly Tamil areas to pay homage to civilians and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas slain, particularly in Sri Lanka’s final blood-soaked military offensive.

Soldiers who maintain a massive presence in the northern and eastern provinces and the police made no effort to hinder the ceremonies, which drew Tamils — young and old, men and women — in unprecedented numbers.

Also Read: Sri Lankan Tamils formally acknowledge LTTE leader Prabhakaran's death

During its armed campaign, the LTTE marked ‘Maveerar Naal’ (Great Heroes’ Day) on November 27 in memory of its fallen fighters. It was on November 27, 1982, that “Lt Shankar” became the first LTTE guerrilla to die after being wounded in fighting.

The day preceding it, November 26, is when LTTE founder leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was born in 1954. His killing by the Sri Lankan military in 2009 ended the Tigers’ quarter-century-long fight for an independent Tamil state.

Silence, flowers, remembrance

Tamil sources who spoke over the telephone said the commemoration meetings on Thursday took place in a sombre atmosphere, mainly in Jaffna, the Tamil heartland, Kilinochchi, where the LTTE was headquartered for years, Mullaitivu, where Prabhakaran was killed, as well as Batticaloa and Trincomalee on the east coast.

As loudspeakers belted out the LTTE song ‘Thayaga Kanavudan’ (With Dreams of Homeland), men, women and children observed a minute’s silence and, in some places, offered flowers to pictures of those killed in what was one of the bloodiest insurgencies in the world.

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But there was no display of LTTE flags — which had a roaring tiger with its paws outstretched — or battle fatigues. Speakers steered clear of saying anything critical of the government, whose main constituent is the Marxist-Sinhalese Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) or People’s Liberation Front.

Yellow-red flags everywhere

Like in Gaza now, most of those killed in the fighting in Sri Lanka’s north and east, the battle zone, were civilians. LTTE guerrillas also died in large numbers. The long-drawn violence also claimed the lives of thousands of Sinhalese troops, besides a large number of Muslims.

Many streets in prominent towns across Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Trincomalee flew yellow-red flags — the two colours in the LTTE flag. Areas where the events took place were brightly lit, while rows and rows of red and yellow bunting were hung from temporary wooden poles and electric posts.

While some meetings took place in vast open grounds, some were held at street corners. A few were organised in halls and auditoriums.

Prabhakaran’s legacy remembered

Although this is the second time the LTTE commemoration has taken place since Anura Dissanayake was elected Sri Lanka’s president in September 2024 and guided his JVP-led alliance to parliamentary victory two months later, the participation of Tamils on Thursday was widely described as “mammoth”.

“It is clear the government had instructed the security forces not to create any obstacle,” a Jaffna resident said over the telephone. “There was no fear among the people who flocked to the events.”

So much so that on Wednesday, some 150 people gathered at Prabhakaran’s hometown Velvettiturai on the northern tip of Jaffna to celebrate what would have been his 71st birthday. A cake was cut, and firecrackers were burst.

Govt mindful of Tamil sensitivities

Tamil sources underlined that most of those who attended were relatives of the dead civilians and LTTE fighters, men and women, and that the mass participation should in no way be seen as continuing support to the Tamil Tigers.

While Colombo wiped out the LTTE’s first and second rung leadership barring rare exceptions, some 12,000 guerrillas surrendered to the military and have undergone official rehabilitation. They kept a low profile on Thursday.

Asked why there was no official obstruction to the events, although the LTTE remains outlawed, the Jaffna resident said, “The government is mindful of Tamil sensitivities since winning seven (parliamentary) seats from Tamil areas. Moreover, they know the mass commemoration is mainly by families, kin and friends, not an organisation. How some Tamils view it is another matter.”

JVP–Tamil talks in London

The commemoration in Sri Lanka came just after a meeting between JVP’s powerful general secretary Tilvin Silva with some senior Tamil community members in London, breaking the ice with a Sinhalese-dominated outfit that has traditionally been a suspect in the eyes of the Tamil minority.

It was the first structured dialogue between the two sides since Dissanayake became the president and bodes well for the future.

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The Tamil delegation, which included some who were once sympathetic to the LTTE, raised concerns over continuing “extremism” among sections of the Sinhalese, pressed the need for early provincial elections, and questioned the conduct of the Sinhalese/Buddhist-dominated archaeology department in Tamil areas.

Significantly, the delegation denounced the noisy street protests held by LTTE supporters on London streets against Silva, who holds no post in the government but is widely viewed as the real power behind President Dissanayake.

Call for a shared future

Media reports quoted an unnamed Tamil leader who met Silva as saying, “There was no grandstanding, no defensiveness and no attempt to dismiss our concerns as exaggerated. It was perhaps the first time in many years that a senior Sinhalese political leader listened without lecturing (us).”

On his part, Silva made it clear that the JVP-led government wanted to move away decisively from race-based politics that has been the bane of Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka cannot progress with its communities living in separate worlds of pain, suspicion and memory. We must build a shared future, not (disparate) pasts.”

A member of the Tamil diaspora in London told this writer that while the JVP-Tamil meeting was no doubt significant, what would be important is what happens on the ground in Sri Lanka.

“It has happened too often in the past that Sinhalese leaders make promises and then go back on them after coming under pressure from Buddhist monks,” he said. “Will Silva and the JVP be different? Will they differentiate between Tamils and the LTTE? We will wait and see.” Only time will tell.