Honouring fallen LTTE cadres should be allowed, the Sri Lankan Minister of Home Affairs has said, according to a report by the Uthayan newspaper.

The minister, Vajira Abeywardena, is quoted by the Uthayan as saying “all soldiers [including LTTE] that died in the war should be honoured and there is nothing wrong in paying tribute to them.”

The remarks were made at the Oddusuddan Maha Vidyalayam in Mullaitivu during a session of the Sri Lankan President’s “Nila Mehewara” National Mobile Service Program.

The quotes follow months of sustained harassment of North-East, and particularly Mullaitivu civil society and locals, intensifying in the month of May and the build up to Mullivaikkal remembrance.

A prominent instance was the ongoing police harassment of Father Elil Rajan and other Mullivaikkal remembrance activity organisers, culminating in the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court’s serving an injunction and allowing an ongoing investigation into remembrance activities, alleging that the names of LTTE cadres may be included in the memorials.

Despite reports that former LTTE cadres continue to face harassment at the hands of the security forces, especially in the Vanni, Mr Abeywardena is reported to have said “rehabilitated cadres should not be afraid to say that they were in the LTTE. They should let go of these fears and live integrated within society.”

Speaking about the contribution the people of the North-East could make to the development of Sri Lanka, the minister is reported to have praised the LTTE’s “world class” training of young men and women and further said, “the North-East people are talented,” claiming that “most have even been trained in how to fire a gun. You can still operate guns,” and “you can identify minefields and avoid them.”