Sri Lanka's prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe praised the efforts of the country's soldiers for defeating the armed Tamil resistance movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), stating that "war heroes who eliminated terrorism that engulfed our country for a longtime laid the basic foundation to build national unity and harmony".
He made these remarks on May 19, as the Sinhala south commemorated 'Victory Day', recently renamed as 'Armed Forces Day', with a military parade in Matara. See here for more.
"We should remember with gratitude and respect our men and women who laid their lives in combating terrorism, peace keeping and humanitarian operations across the world and the ones who became disabled while doing their duty diligently," he said, reported the government's news portal, News.Lk.
"I take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt good wishes for a meaningful commemoration of 'War Heroes Day' I also hope that this process will help heal the broken and bleeding hearts of many who were affected during the conflict. I have no doubt this will help to ensure national unity in our country. Let me also thank the Ranaviru Seva Authority for the commendable work they have rendered all these years."
Whilst the prime minister attended the military parade, Tamils continued to grieve over the massacre of tens of thousands Tamil civilians and LTTE fighters at the end of the armed conflict six years ago, with remembrance events taking place amid military surveillance across the North-East.
Related article: Tamils remember May 2009 massacre amid surveillance by Sri Lankan intelligence officers (18 May 2015)
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