COLOMBO: As Southern Sri Lanka focussed on reconciliation while commemorating seventh anniversary of the military victory over Tamil Tigers on Wednesday, the northern parts of the country marked it as a ‘day of sorrow’ by remembering its dead and reiterating the need for accountability of those who committed “war crimes” during the long conflict.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took part in ceremonies in Colombo and witnessed a cultural programme celebrating the country’s ethnic and religious diversity.

Artistes from the armed forces and police performed at the function. For his part, the chief minister of the Tamil-majority Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, declared that the Tamils could not sacrifice their demand for accountability for war crimes either for the sake of reconciliation or devolution of powers.

The ‘War Hero’ commemoration programme held by the government this year included a ceremony at the War Hero Monument in Battaramulla, a Colombo suburb, but broke from the tradition maintained during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa of organising extravagant military parades and other such ceremonies.

In contrast to the ceremony in Colombo, chief minister of the Northern Province, while speaking at a solemn function in northern Mulliwaikkal, where an alleged massacre took place from 2006 to 2009, insisted that reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils could only be brought about if those responsible for war crimes were brought to justice.

He also reiterated the demand for a Truth Seeking Mechanism and an internationally-led Judicial Mechanism for assigning responsibility for war crimes.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2016