NPC Calls for Cross-Community Solidarity in Anojan Case
The National Peace Council (NPC) has issued a statement urging the government, political parties, civil society, and religious leaders to ensure that recent high-profile events do not escalate into communal grievances affecting entire communities in Sri Lanka. The council specifically cited the imposition of a death sentence on Sri Lankan citizen Sivarasa Anojan in Saudi Arabia as one of the critical issues requiring immediate attention.
In its response, the NPC welcomed the efforts undertaken by the government regarding the Anojan case. The organization also expressed support for the appeals for clemency made by various political and religious leaders, including Muslim leaders who have publicly intervened in the matter.
The council emphasized that the life of a Sri Lankan citizen should be viewed as a concern shared by all citizens, regardless of their religious or ethnic background. To demonstrate this unity, the NPC encouraged leaders from Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian communities to express solidarity together. The organization stated that political, civil, and religious leaders must actively reject any attempts to turn the Anojan case into a source of anti-Muslim sentiment or collective blame against specific groups.
The NPC formally joined the ongoing appeal for clemency for Anojan, reinforcing its position that such legal outcomes should be addressed through unified national concern rather than communal division.
Legal and Memorial Complexities Surrounding Thileepan Statue
Simultaneously addressing the second event, the NPC noted the deep significance many Tamils attach to Thileepan. He died on September 26, 1987, after undertaking a twelve-day fast to protest the terms of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.
The controversy arose when a statue erected during this year’s commemoration was removed by police on September 27. The government has raised legal concerns regarding the commemoration of an individual associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which remains a proscribed organization in Sri Lanka.
In response to the removal and the broader question of memorialization, the NPC pointed to existing legal frameworks. The council noted that the Office for Reparations Act, No. 34 of 2018 provides for policies on memorialization within its broader reparations framework. The NPC stated that the government needs to engage with the Office for Reparations to examine whether an appropriate form of memorialization can be accommodated within the law.
The council also drew a historical parallel regarding political commemoration, noting that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which currently leads the NPP Government, was once proscribed. It later entered democratic politics and has publicly commemorated its own fallen for many years. The NPC asserted that the opportunity to remember those who died while remaining within the law should not belong to one community alone.
Defining Peace Through Addressing Difficult Issues
The NPC’s intervention highlights a broader definition of peace building, which it describes as the capacity to address today’s difficult issues in ways that prevent them from becoming tomorrow’s communal divisions. By addressing both the Anojan case and the Thileepan statue removal through unified appeals and legal engagement, the council aims to mitigate risks of communal grievance.
The organization’s stance underscores the importance of utilizing established legal mechanisms for memorialization while ensuring that political and religious leaders across all communities remain united in their response to sensitive national events.