Did President Anura Kumara Dissanayake give full permission to celebrate Maveerar Day in Sri Lanka?

INTRO :

A letter circulating on social media, purportedly signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, claims that he has announced there are no longer any restrictions preventing the Tamil community in Sri Lanka from commemorating Maveerar Day.

What is the Claim:

Facebook Link | Archived Link

In that viral social media posts says that “ Greetings to the Tamil people, Tamil people who have been fighting for their freedom for a long time and have lost thousands of lives. From this year onwards in this month of November you will be able to remember those who sacrificed their lives for you in a peaceful and very safe manner without any hindrance and a peaceful atmosphere for commemoration of the dead by all the Tamil people living in Sri Lanka in temples, schools, offices and public places without demonstrations and in a very peaceful manner without any disturbance. We have reached today. I think nature has created such a peaceful environment.”

Factcheck:

As we began investigating the truth behind this claim, our first step was to check whether any reports on the matter had been published in the mainstream media. From our investigation, we confirmed that no such news had been reported in mainstream media.

Upon checking the President’s official Facebook page for such a statement, we found no evidence of any related posts.

Additionally, we contact to the Presidential Media Division to verify the authentication of the letter, they confirmed that it was entirely fake and clarified that no media statement or gazette notification had been issued by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake regarding this matter.

After reviewing the authenticity of the letter bearing the President’s signature, we noticed that the title on the letterhead was entirely incorrect.

Official statements from the President are issued on the official presidential letterhead. However, our investigation revealed that the letterhead of the letter in question was fabricated and included a photograph of the President, which is not included in official presidential letterhead.

History Of Maveerar Day

November 27 was designated as Maveerar Day by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1989. This date holds historical significance in the Tamil Eelam struggle, as it marks the death of Shankar (S. Sathyanathan), the first combatant of the LTTE.

On this day, families of death fighters often visit their graves to pay tribute. Key commemorative activities include flag hoisting, lighting lambs, and offering floral tributes.

Kilinochchi area security

In a website news mention that “Residents of Kilinochchi have reported that police and military restrictions appear to have been relaxed”. However, when we inquired about this with the Ministry of Defense spokesperson, Colonel Nalin Herath, he clarified that security measures in the district remain consistent with those in other districts and that no adjustments have been made to either increase or decrease security in any specific area.

He further noted that Maveerar Day is observed annually in November across the Northern and Eastern regions.

Regional journalists

When we reached out to regional journalists in the Northern Province, they noted that preparations for Maveerar Day celebrations, starting from November 1st, are underway. They also confirmed that, so far, the government has not announced any restrictions.

Sivagnanam Siridharan

When we spoke to Member of Parliament Sivagnanam Siridharan about this, he confirmed that Maveerar Day is observed annually on November 27th in the North and East. He also stated that the new government has not imposed any ban on the celebrations this year.

Based on the information gathered, it is evident that the statement circulating on social media, bearing the signature of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, claiming that Tamil people will be able to celebrate Maveerar Day without restrictions from this year onward, is entirely false.