Tamil victims remembered in Colombo 

Thousands of Tamils killed in war were commemorated on Wednesday for the first time outside the minority’s heartland in the north and east of the country.

Clergy from Buddhist, Hindu and Christian communities offered prayers in Colombo and lit a clay lamp for those who perished between 1972 and May 2009 when the fighting ended.

The ceremony coincided with the 13th anniversary of the ending of hostilities.

“This is highly symbolic and very important for Tamils,” Tamil legislator Dharmalingam Sithadthan, an MP from Jaffna told AFP.

“In previous years, there were private memorials held in secret, but this public event is highly welcome.”

Any remembrance of Tamil war victims had been banned under Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa family which is currently under siege over the country’s dire economic crisis.

On Wednesday, volunteers offered porridge to passers-by as a symbol of the humble food that tens of thousands of Tamils were left with during the final stages of the war.

“The kanji (porridge) was the life-saving food for Tamil people in the last stages of the war,” a Hindu priest said at the ceremony. “They struggled in the midst of shelling and bombing and underwent untold suffering.”

Rights activist Mari de Silva said she hoped Wednesday’s commemoration would lead to ethnic reconciliation in the Sinhalese-majority nation.

“I sincerely hope this is also a first step towards real reconciliation in Lanka and that we can join the call for justice and accountability,” she said on Twitter.