Last August, a cornerstone ceremony took place in Brampton, Ontario. for a Tamil genocide monument in the city. The architectural design of the memorial was chosen from 100,000 submissions and finalized by the National Council of Canadian Tamils ​​in 2022.

This is an important victory for Sri Lankan Tamils, both in Canada and around the world. Tamil separatists fought a three-decade civil war against the Sri Lankan government and commemorating the war remained a priority. very controversial question.

The memorial also sparked protests from those who opposed its construction. About a dozen people showed up to the ceremony to protest the construction of the memorial. Earlier, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Toronto, Thurshara Rodrigo, wrote a letter to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who opposes the memorial. Then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Ali Sabry, expressed his concerns on the monument and its “adverse impact” on bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Canada.

Following the ceremony, Brown said on that he was proud to “mark the start of the construction of the Tamil Genocide Monument” and declared that the Sri Lankan government “continues to evade its responsibilities before the International Criminal Court”.

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic country, with a Sinhalese majority comprising more than 70 percent of the population, while the Tamil population represents just over 10 percent. The controversy surrounding this memorial highlights the broader memory wars around the history of the civil war in Sri Lanka: how it is remembered and by whom.

How the Civil War in Sri Lanka is remembered

May 19 in Sri Lanka marks the anniversary of the end of the civil war. The events of that day tell two stories about the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government. The first is that the government has defeated ethnic separatism and terrorism, with state forces sacrificing their lives for peace. This is the officially designated story described in National War Heroes Day.

The second story is that of genocide. Mullivaikal Remembrance Dayalso known as Tamil Genocide Memorial Day, observed on May 18, commemorates the events that took place in Mullivaikal, a village in northern Sri Lanka. According to the United Nations Expert Report 2011an estimated 300,000 civilians were trapped in a designated “no-fire zone,” where they were subjected to indiscriminate bombardment by government forces, which reportedly killed thousands.

The government’s narrative about the events at Mullivaikal is that the LTTE was holding civilians hostage, which resulted in a large-scale humanitarian rescue by the Sri Lankan military. However, the survivors of this period tell how lucky they were to survive and continue to seek justice for their loved ones who did not survive.

There are conflicting reports on the total number of casualties during the last phase of the war. The United Nations has estimated that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final phase of the war. Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense says 250,000 civilians were rescued.

However, allegations of genocide and massacres persist, particularly among Tamil diaspora communities who continue to push for accountability.

Monuments and wars of memory

In 2022, the Parliament of Canada voted to recognize May 18 is Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. In 2021, Ontario passed legislation recognizing a Tamil Genocide Education Week every May. However, groups in Canada, such as Ontario Center for Policy Researchfought to kill the bill.

In Sri Lanka, however, the main argument regarding “memory” is that states are often reluctant to acknowledge their past actions, particularly in cases involving alleged serious human rights violations. This is regardless of the fact that such memories were catalysts for reconciliation in other places where mass atrocities have been committed, like Rwanda. For example, the Kigali Genocide Monument in Rwanda has been a source of remembrance, learning and peace.

In 2019, a monument was built at the University of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka to commemorate the death of the Tamils, but it was destroyed by Sri Lankan soldiers and police in January 2021, leading to protests and student hunger strikes.

Below international pressurethe government allowed its reconstruction later that year, although Sarath Weerasekerathen Minister of Public Security, declared that “no one will and should be allowed to commemorate dead terrorists.”

The right to memory

Memory includes activities such as archiving, storytelling, building memorials, performing rituals, and holding ceremonies such as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada.

Whether or not governments have an obligation to recognize remembrance as a right is a difficult question. Honoring the memory of victims of human rights violations is recognized by the UN. right to the truth. In transitional justiceFor countries emerging from violent conflict, remembrance is a way of coming to terms with the loss of life during war.

The newly elected Sri Lankan government has rejected last Draft UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for investigations into war crimes, continuing Colombo’s policy on the issue of genocide.

However, the government’s position on memory could change if it were reframed around national reconciliation.

Every year, the party of the current president, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), part of the National People’s Power coalition, commemorates its members who died during the 1971 uprising. The commemoration is known as April Heroes day. If the ruling party holds commemorations for former insurgents, it might as well allow Tamil commemorative practices inside and outside the country for the purposes of national reconciliation.

Furthermore, Sri Lankan Prime Minister and former academic, Harini Amarasuriya, wrote that the JVP insurgencies and Tamil militants shared frustrations over socio-economic and ethnic exclusions.

There therefore remains the possibility of reframing memory through reconciliation, minimizing friction between Sri Lankans at home and in the diaspora. This is particularly important for Canada, where the Sri Lankan diaspora includes many around 200,000 people.

This article is republished from The conversationan independent, nonprofit news organization bringing you trusted facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Hiruni Nathasha Fernando, University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM)

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Hiruni Nathasha Fernando does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.