• The ceremony was held at the Mullivaikkal main ground where thousands of people from Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Batticaloa participated 

BY NISHANTHA HEWAGE

Marking Mullivaikkal remembrance day as a day of mourning, Tamils across North and East yesterday (18) gathered at Mullativu district village Mullivaikkal to remember the thousands of civilians who died in the final stages of war in 2009. May 18 this year also marks the 13th year since the war ended in 2009.  

Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamil people to remember those who died in the final stages of the war. It is held each year on May 18, the date on which the civil war ended in 2009, and is named after Mullivaikkal, a village on the north-east coast of the country, which was the scene of the final battle of the war.  

The remembrance ceremony was held at the Mullivaikkal main ground and thousands of people from Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Batticaloa including relatives of the dead, human rights activists, religious leaders, northern political leaders, representatives from international non-governmental organisations and other concerned groups participated in the ceremony.  
Speaking to Daily Mirror, pontiff of the Sivagiri Ashram and co-ordinator of last year’s Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) protest march, Velan Swamigal said, “Memorial activities on this day are important for many reasons because the people who gathered here not only remember their loved ones who died but also they express their concern over the disappeared. Justice should be served and due process is needed”   

He said, “The political prisoners who have been arbitrarily arrested should also be released. It is a responsibility of the government to ensure the land rights of the people who have been displaced due to war.”  

Many shops in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu towns remained closed as a respect to the remembrance day while most of the people who participated in the ceremony wore black.