The Sri Lankan government will be holding an event entitled “Armed Forces Day” on May 19, marking 6 years since the end of the armed conflict and the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.
A government official told the Sunday Times that the event had been renamed from the previous “Victory Day Parade” and would be held “in remembrance of all those who died during wars in Sri Lanka.”
Sri Lankan armed forces reportedly carried out mass atrocities in the final stages of the armed conflict, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed, and an investigation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently underway.
In previous years the Sri Lankan government cracked down on remembrance events in the North-East of the island, where a ban on memorial events was enforced by the large military presence there.
See our earlier feature:
Tamil nation remembers Mullivaikal massacre 5 years on, amidst military ban (18 May 2014)
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