The promotion of the accused war criminal Major General Jagath Dias to Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka's army is a major setback for peacebuilding on the island, a group of NGOs has charged, calling on the government to revoke the position.

The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and TRIAL (Track Impunity Always), condemned the promotion.

“The promotion of a suspected war criminal to the post of the Army Chief of Staff is a serious setback for the Sri Lankan process of reconciliation announced by President Maithripala Sirisena on taking office in January”, the NGOs said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.

Tamils in the Qatari capital Doha commemorated those who died in the closing stages of the armed conflict in 2009, Pathivu reported.

The faces of those who attended were blacked out for security reasons by the news website, as the virtually all Tamils in the Middle Eastern country are temporary workers who will return to Sri Lanka at some point.

The Tamil National People’s Front moved their planned Mullivaikal remembrance event to Vaddamarachi East after a court order banned the organisation from leading commemoration events at Mullivaikal.

The event was held at the Vembadi Murugan temple where people lit candles of remembrance and lay flowers paying respects to those that had died.

The Tamil National Alliance decided to boycott Sri Lanka’s military parade, marking the end of the armed conflict.

TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran told the Sunday Leader the party has taken a clear decision not to attend the event, however added he was not able to comment on behalf of TNA leader R. Sampanthan and TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran.

“The other members of the TNA have taken a clear position since the beginning not to take part in the victory day celebrations. It is not a day for the Tamils to celebrate. Many Tamil nationals died at the last phase of the war. It may be a day for the Sri Lankan Army to celebrate, but it is not a day that Tamils can celebrate. Personally I will not attend the event that is to be held in Matara for victory celebrations,” Mr Premachandran said.

Several Tamil children orphaned in the war attended a remembrance event in a church in the town of Koppaay on Monday evening.

The event was attended by TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran and Northern Province Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, whose husband, Elilan Sasitharan, is one of the many who disappeared after being captured by the army.

"We are people who do not even have the freedom to remember our loved ones, we are still living without even the freedom to light a candle for our loved ones,” Mr Premachandran said, addressing those who attended the event.

Tamils in Vavuniya held a remembrance events, on Monday, in commemoration of those that died at the end of the armed ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

An event organised by the Tamil National Alliance, was led by MPs Sivasakthy Ananthan and Selvam Adaikkalagathan. 

Tamils from the local community also gathered at a second remembrance event called Tamil Genocide Day, organised by the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) was led by S Gopalakrishnan.

The Northern Provincial Councillor Ananthy Sasitharan called on the Sri Lankan government to release all those arbitrarily detained since the end of the armed ethnic conflict in 2009.

A Mullivaikkal remembrance event was held in Trincomalee on Sunday, with several members of the public lighting candles in memory of those who lost their lives, Battinews reported.

The event, at the Chelvanayagam memorial in the town on the east coast, was attended by several local members of the TNA and the Eastern Provincial Council, including Trincomalee ITAK leader S Thandaayuthapaani, who is also the EPC's minister for education.

The victims of the final phase of the armed conflict were commemorated at a Hindu ceremony in Kalmunai in the Amparai district.

TNA councillor for the Eastern Provincial Council T Kalaiarasan led the proceedings in Kalmunai's Murugan temple, with several local Tamils also attending the event, Battinews reported.

TNA MPs P Ariyaneththiran and P Selvarajah, EPC agriculture minister K Thurairajasingam and EPC councillors K Karunakaram, G Krishnapillai, M Rajeswaran and M Nadarasa, also attended the event.