11th anniv of victory over LTTE to be low-key affair

Colombo, May 18

Sri Lanka will mark the 11th anniversary of its victory over the LTTE with a low key state ceremony on Tuesday, amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Tamil separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which led an armed rebellion for over three decades against the Sri Lankan government to set up a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern province of the island nation was defeated by the Army in May 2009.

"This year the celebrations will be held at a simple scale. The main ceremony is to take place near Parliament tomorrow and the occasion is to be graced by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa," Lt Gen Shavendra Silva, the Army Commander told reporters here.

The Sri Lankan Government would be holding a restricted state commemoration ceremony on Tuesday due to the COVID-19 pandemic that would be graced by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. A large number of war heroes would be commemorated during the occasion.

On May 19, 2009, the formal end to the bloody separatist war was signalled with the discovery of the body of the feared LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran.

Lt Gen Silva headed one of the Army divisions which cornered the LTTE in Army's final win and President Rajapaksa was the top defense bureaucrat under his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. Silva said the close relatives of war heroes will attend the commemoration ceremony. — PTI 

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