DHAKA: Sri Lanka’s military on Monday announced a ban on any commemoration of the island’s defeated Tamil Tiger rebels following reports that sections of the ethnic Tamil minority were planning to hold events.

The military said any event was banned because the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the Tamil Tigers, was still a proscribed organisation, four years after the army defeated the group to end a decades-long separatist war.

Small and low-key ceremonies are usually held at this time every year to commemorate rebels killed during the conflict, a so-called ‘heroes’ week’ that coincides with the anniversary of the death of the first rebel.

Local media have reported that more organised events were planned this year in the island`s former northern war zone after the main Tamil party won local elections there in September, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1849 HRS, NOV 25, 2013