Dec 06, Colombo: The leader of a minor Tamil party in Sri Lanka says Tamil people need to be given the right to commemorate their dead fighters.

Leader of the Democratic People's Front (DPF), Mano Ganeshan says the Tamil people have been deprived of the right to commemorate their dead on the Martyr's Day also known as Mahaveer Day.

Ganeshan said that peace and reconciliation could never take place in the country, especially in the North and East, if this right is not given to the Tamil people.

He noted that while there were two rebellions in the South in 1971 and 1989, the JVP has been permitted to commemorate those who had died in the armed struggle.

He commented that Jaffna University students were assaulted and arrested after they had tried to light lamps on the slain terrorist leader, Prabhakaran's birthday November 27th, which was also the Mahaveer Day, to commemorate those who had died in the armed struggle.

Since LTTE is a banned terrorist organization, any activity related to the outfit is illegal under the terrorism prevention laws of the country whereas the Marxist party JVP is a recognized political party in the country.