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17 years since Sri Lanka defeated the LTTE and ended the war
Posted by ONLANKA Newsroom on May 18, 2026 - 6:55 am FILE PHOTO Seventeen years have passed as of today (May 18) since the Government of Sri Lanka defeated the LTTE terrorists after a 30-year war. To mark the occasion, the “National Victory Day Commemoration” is scheduled to be held tomorrow (May 19) in front of the Ranaviru (War Heroes) Memorial in Battaramulla at 3:00 PM, under the patronage of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Chairman of the Ranaviru Seva Authority, Brigadier (Retired) S. B. Kohona, said this year marks the 17th commemorative event and that several special changes have been introduced. He said the main aim is to provide maximum opportunities for war heroes and the family members of those who sacrificed their lives for the country, and that participation by war hero families has increased significantly compared to previous years. He also said a special effort has been made to include Tamil and Muslim war heroes from the Northern and Eastern regions who served alongside the tri-forces during the conflict. As part of this, relatives of fallen war heroes from the North and East have been specially invited, with around 1,000 invitations sent to ensure their participation. Director of the Ranaviru Seva Authority, L.M.C.B. Nishshanka, said a total of 2,769 people are expected to attend the commemoration. He added that 160 war hero parents have been given the opportunity to take part this year, which is an increase compared to earlier events. Deputy Director A.G. Bhagya said the Ranaviru Seva Authority continues to provide wide support to war heroes and their families, including physical, psychosocial and financial assistance. He said the Authority’s work also covers rehabilitation, care for disabled war heroes, welfare support, housing, healthcare, education and employment opportunities. Bhagya added that structured plans have been prepared under short-term, medium-term and long-term frameworks, and that an allocation of Rs. 569 million has been made for these initiatives for the coming five-year period. The war ended when LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed by the Sri Lanka Army at the Nandikadal Lagoon on May 18, 2009. On July 27, 1975, the LTTE began its campaign to divide Sri Lanka by assassinating the then Jaffna Mayor, Alfred Duraiappah. The LTTE attempted to push the country into a major crisis by launching attacks on economic nerve centres as well as religious sites, including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Katu...
As LTTE leader's death is acknowledged, new controversies arise over ...
Opinion By Kumar Chellappan CHENNAI: At their August 2 meeting held at Basel in Switzerland, former guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formally acknowledged that their chief, Veluppillai Prabhakaran, was killed in the last phase of the Eelam War by the soldiers of the Sri Lankan defence forces. It remains unanswered why it took the LTTE sympathisers more than 16 years to accept that Prabhakaran was killed in the fight with the Sri Lankan Army on May 18, 2009, despite the pictures/videos of the corpse of the slain leader going viral. The news about Prabhakaran's death was declared in Sri Lankan Parliament by none other than the then President Mahinda Rajapaksha, but followers of the dreaded terrorist, in their belief that their leader was immortal, refused to accept it and insisted he was alive somewhere in Europe. P. Nedumaran, Vayyapuri Gopalasami (known by the name Vaiko), K. Veeramani (a confidant of the DMK, especially Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin) and Thol Thirumavalavan, a Tamil fanatic and Member of Parliament, went on peddling the claim that Prabhakaran was alive. “Prabhakaran is living safely in a faraway place, and I assure you all that he would stage a comeback at the right time to create the Tamil Eelam,” Nedumaran said as recently as 2023. The news-starved 24x7 satellite TV channels, some of them financed and owned by LTTE sympathisers, ‘literally celebrated’ Nedumaran’s claim. Nedumaran, a former president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, enjoyed a lot of clout with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He joined the LTTE camp when he understood the ground reality that there was no space for people like him in the Congress or the DMK. Since the LTTE had a lot of cash in its coffers, it could purchase disgruntled elements like Nedumaran, Vaiko, Thirumavalavan, etc., who did not let their new bosses down. The then-governments led by Karunanidhi and his bete noir M.G. Ramachandran vied with one another to supplement the LTTE with whatever amount it asked for. Besides the TV channels, the LTTE, through its operatives, ran many business houses in Tamil Nadu and some other states. There were LTTE-funded fleet operators, newspapers, magazines, and film production companies. How politicians like Vaiko, Nedumaran and Thirumavalavan flourished without doing any job remains a mystery. It is alleged that colleges and even a university in Tamil Nadu were financed by the LTTE. The only regional political leader w...
Special Inclusion of Northern and Eastern War Hero Families at 17th ...
In this regard, relatives of fallen war heroes from the North and East have been specially invited, with approximately 1,000 invitations extended to ensure their participation.
Sri Lanka marks 17 years since the defeat of three-decade terrorism
The roots of LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka date back to July 27, 1975, with the assassination of then Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah, regarded as one of the first major acts in the group's separatist campaign. Over the years, the LTTE carried out numerous attacks across the island, claiming thousands of lives and causing widespread destruction.
