Sri Lanka's national Tamil political alliance has inaugrated a week-long commemoration of the Tamils who died in the final battle with the army in 2009.
"We began a commemoration by lighting oil lamps at Vellamullaivaikkal in Mullaithivu yesterday to respect those who died in May 2009," said M K Shvajilingam, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) member.
Shvajilingam dismissed accusations that he was commemorating the fallen LTTE members.
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"Like the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna celebrate their dead of 1971 and 1987 we have every right to celebrate our people who have died," Shvajilingam who was joined by two other council members said.
His reference was to Marxist JVP's two rebellions in the Sinhala majority dominated south of the island.
According to UN estimates, up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by security forces during former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime that brought an end to the nearly three decades-long war in the country with the defeat of the LTTE in 2009.
Vellamullaivaikkal in the north eastern Mullaithivu district was where the final battle took place which ended with the discovery of the body of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.
The LTTE remains a banned outfit in the island and any commemoration of them since 2009 was not permitted by the security forces.
Shivajilingam said the commemoration would go on until May 18.
