Lalin's Coloumn: Remembrance Day Ceremonies as a truly national event

There is to be a War Heroes week from 12 to 18 May. This is to be followed by a Victory parade on 20 May at the Galle Face grounds in the morning and a remembrance ceremony on the Parliamentary grounds in the evening.

At the same time the President has called for a Reconciliation (and Lessons learned) Commission to which outstanding people will be appointed. It may now appear that the Victory parade could be seen as being at cross purposes with the aims of the Commission appointed by the President.

“In the hearts of our people there is a real desire to find something done now to find lasting expression of their feeling for those who gave their lives in the war. They want something done now while the memories of sacrifice are in the minds of all; for there is the dread- too well grounded in experience – that those who have gone will not always be the first in the thoughts of all, and that when the fruits of their sacrifice becomes our daily bread, there will be few occasions to remind us of what we realize so clearly today”- Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (1919)

It calls into question whether when the nation pays its respects to the fallen, there is also a need to have another victory celebration?

We should remember that even the first ‘victory’ celebrations in 2009 were not exactly well received by all. Even clergy of all denominations were critical of the need to have done so after a conflict that left 100,000 dead and 300,000 in IDP camps.

There are 100,000 IDPs still in the camps who will not be resettled for at least another 6 months.

Is it not enough to mark the end of the conflict only with a Remembrance ceremony to commemorate the dead where silence, prayers and laying of wreaths to commemorate them take place?

That will hopefully bind all the people in their mutual grief and sorrow and not allow the wounds of war to be reopened or remain unhealed.

What is required urgently is national reconciliation. Even the perception of humiliation of any group should not be allowed to surface, now that the conflict is a year over.

A National Remembrance Day must surely bring everyone from Jaffna to Devinuwara and Trincomalie and Batticalo to Colombo together, bar no one, as ceremonies are held all over the country and not only in Colombo.

Observing it with 2 minutes of silence at the same time all over the country should help to remind the people of the tragedy that is now thankfully over, pay homage to the dead and bring home to all the sacrifices made by those who died, were crippled or were left without some dear to them, especially the widows and orphans of the conflict.

”Silence complete and arresting, closed the city – the moving awe inspiring silence---- where the smallest sound must seem a sacrilege….Only those who have felt it can understand the overmastering effect in action and reaction of a multitude moved suddenly to one thought and one purpose’.

All road traffic should come to a stand still and there should be complete silence nationwide.

The commemoration ’lies not in the prayers publicly recited….but in the 2 minutes silence… Thoughts will turn to the future rather than the past; they will concern themselves less with bygone victory than with the hopes of peace to come. Yet to devote the 2 minutes to silent prayer for peace is certainly not to show forgetfulness for the fallen or ingratitude for their sacrifices. It is on the contrary to commemorate them in just the way they would wish” (Times London 1937).

The Commander in Chief will lay the first wreath in silence. For the ceremony to be truly representative of all the people of SL, the leader of the Opposition and leaders of all political parties represented in Parliament should be invited to follow as the massed bands play solemn music.

The acceptance of the invitation by the opposition party leaders will be the test of reconciliation and national integration. If this is not possible, the ceremony will be diminished greatly in stature and relevance. It could then unfortunately even be considered a political show rather than national event.

High Commissioners and Ambassadors will follow after which the Commanders of the Army, SL Navy and SL Air Force will also lay wreaths as will the Inspector General of Police, the Commandant of the Civilian Defence Force and representatives of the veterans associations of all the Regiments and units and like groups which may also include the Fire Brigades and Ambulance squads.

Prayers will be offered by priests representing the Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim faiths to the memory of those who have died in service to the nation.

There must be no hint of any glorification of war even as the soldiers who are posted by the Memorial, bow their heads with arms reversed to show their respect for the dead, an age old tradition dating to the Greek ages.

The troops paraded in a hollow square around the war memorial will represent all the regiments and units of the Army, SL Navy and SL Air Force while the march past at which the Commander in Chief will take the salute, must have impressive numbers. It must encourage and give pride of place to the veterans of the 3 Services who should attend in their hundreds if not thousands.

Those limbless who cannot be wheeled past should be transported in suitable open vehicles. Hopefully the war widows in time will also make their presence felt.

All this will remind the veterans that they will never be forgotten. The people will bring to mind the sacrifices made and the heroism and selflessness of those who served.

The ceremony, now that the conflict is very much over, should be open to the public from all walks of life. They should be made welcome by the organizers and attend in great numbers if it is to have national recognition and relevance.

Conversely if only a few attend for any reason, it will be hard pressed to considered a national event. All radio and TV stations should give live coverage to the ceremonies. There should be little overt security. There should be no attempt to politicize the event.

Let the Remembrance Ceremony while it pays respect to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflict and war, renew a pledge to the widows and orphans of war and the disabled veterans, not to honour war but those that died in it. It must also reunite all Sri Lankans who should ‘Take these men for your example.