| Remembrance Day | |
|---|---|
 Kilinochchi Headquarters War Heroes Monument | |
| Official name | ජාතික රණවිරු සැමරුම් උළෙල National War heroes Commemoration Day |
| Also called | Victory Day (2010–2014) |
| Observed by | Sri Lankans |
| Type | National |
| Significance | End of theSri Lankan Civil War and to commemorate the war dead |
| Observances | Parades,silences, cultural show |
| Date | 19 May |
| Next time | 19 May 2026 (2026-05-19) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | 18 June 2010; 14 years ago (2010-06-18) |
Remembrance Day (Sinhala: ජාතික රණවිරු සැමරුම් උළෙලJāthika Raṇaviru Sæmarum Uḷela), also known asNational War Heroes Commemoration Day, is a memorial day observed inSri Lanka since the end of theSri Lankan Civil War, which is observed to commemorate the war heroes which fought in the war and the civilians who were killed in the war from both sides. Remembrance Day is observed on 19 May, which marks the decisive victory of theSri Lankan Army against the rebelLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, on 18 May 2009.
Celebrations are marked by speeches and a moment of silence. Initially, underPresidentMahinda Rajapaksa, the day was known asVictory Day and included amilitary parade,[1] but in 2015 was renamed Remembrance Day by PresidentMaithripala Sirisena.[2][3][4]
The memorial day occurs on the day afterMullivaikkal Remembrance Day,[5][6] a similar memorial day celebrated by some groups in the northern part of Sri Lanka to commemorate the people who said to be killed during thefinal stages of the war.[7]
TheSri Lankan Civil War was an armed conflict fought between theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and theGovernment of Sri Lanka. The 26-year conflict came to an end on 18 May 2009, with the total military defeat of the LTTE, and thus the day was marked as a day of celebration across the island.[8]
Celebrations of the first anniversary were presided over by PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa, whose government was in power when the war ended.[1] The celebrations were commemorated as Victory Day, a celebration of the triumph of theArmed Forces against terrorism in the country, and continued under the same name until 2015.[citation needed] Rajapaksa's successor, PresidentMaithripala Sirisena renamed the day to Remembrance Day and moved the date to 19 May to "mark the sacrifices made by all those, who irrespective of their ethnicity, safeguarded the unity and territorial integrity of the country".[9][10][11] The day also recognises all civilians who died in the war. The day is a step towards reconciliation between all ethnic communities of the country.[12][2][3][4]
Commemorations for theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are not permitted.[3][4]
| Date held | Location | Presided by | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 18 June 2010 | Galle Face Green,Colombo | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| 2nd | 27 May 2011 | ||
| 3rd | 19 May 2012 | ||
| 4th | 18 May 2013 | ||
| 5th | 18 May 2014 | Matara | |
| 6th | 19 May 2015 | Maithripala Sirisena | |
| 7th | 18 May 2016 | National War Memorial Battaramulla,Colombo | |
| 8th | 19 May 2017 | ||
| 9th | 19 May 2018 | ||
| 10th | 19 May 2019 | ||
| 11th | 19 May 2020 | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |
| 12th | 19 May 2021 | ||
| 13th | 19 May 2022 | ||
| 14th | 19 May 2023 | Ranil Wickremesinghe[13] | |
| 15th | 19 May 2024 | ||
| 16th | 19 May 2025 | Anura Kumara Dissanayake[14] |
State Ceremonies of Sri Lanka | ||
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| State |  | |
| Social | ||
| Traditional | ||
| Related | ||
