Remembrance Day ( Sinhala: ජාතික රණවිරු සැමරුම් උළෙල ''Jāthika Raṇaviru Sæmarum Uḷela''), also known as National War Heroes Commemoration Day, is a memorial day observed in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

since the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which is observed to commemorate the war heroes which fought in the war and the civilians who were killed in the war from both sides. Remembrance Day is observed on 19 May, which marks the decisive victory of the

Sri Lankan Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

against the rebel

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

and the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, on 18 May 2009. Celebrations are marked by speeches and a moment of silence. Initially, under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

, the day was known as Victory Day and included a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

, but in 2015 was renamed Remembrance Day by President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

. The memorial day occurs on the day after

Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (or simply Mullivaikkal Day; ''Muḷḷivāykkāl Niṉaivu Nāḷ'') is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamils to remember those who were killed during the Final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, final s ...

, a similar memorial day celebrated by some groups in the northern part of Sri Lanka to commemorate the people who said to be killed during the final stages of the war.

History

The Sri Lankan Civil War was an armed conflict fought between the

, and the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...

. The 26-year conflict came to an end on 18 May 2009, with the total military defeat of the LTTE, and thus the day was marked as a day of celebration across the island. Celebrations of the first anniversary were presided over by President

, whose government was in power when the war ended. The celebrations were commemorated as Victory Day, a celebration of the triumph of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

against terrorism in the country, and continued under the same name until 2015. Rajapaksa's successor, President

renamed the day to Remembrance Day and moved the date to 19 May to "mark the sacrifices made by all those, who irrespective of their ethnicity, safeguarded the unity and territorial integrity of the country". The day also recognises all civilians who died in the war. The day is a step towards reconciliation between all ethnic communities of the country. Commemorations for the

are not permitted.

Anniversaries

References

{{State Ceremonies of Sri Lanka May observances Observances honoring victims of war Sri Lankan civil war Victory days Sri Lankan historical anniversaries

History

Anniversaries

See also

References