Sri Lanka bans Tamil remembrance of war dead
Commemorations for Tamil Tiger rebels killed in Sri Lanka's decades-long civil war were banned yesterday after court petitions by the government of strongman President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka's 37-year conflict began in 1972 when Tamil Tigers waged a bloody war against government troops in a campaign for a separate homeland for their ethnic minority group. Rajapaksa was defence chief when the Tigers were finally defeated in 2009 while his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was president, winning them the adoration of many in the Sinhala majority population. For years, Tamils were not allowed to commemorate their war dead, but a ban on "Heroes' Day" ceremonies at cemeteries was lifted after Mahinda was voted out of office in 2015.
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