the precise time Lt. Shankar died. The highly anticipated speeches began to take on the form of an annual policy statement by the LTTE and were broadcast on LTTE affiliated radio and TV stations in LTTE controlled areas and abroad. After the Sri Lankan military recaptured the Jaffna peninsula in 1995 they destroyed LTTE cemeteries - thuyilum illam - in the area including those at Chaadi, Ellangkulam, Kodikamam and Kopay. Following the start of the Norwegian mediated peace process in 2002 the LTTE started rebuilding their war cemeteries. Maaveerar Naal commemorations were allowed in government territory. In 2004 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs were allowed to light oil lamps in front of the Parliament to commemorate Maaveerar Naal. However, after the peace process stalled the Sri Lankan military started imposing restrictions on Maaveerar Naal commemorations and destroying LTTE cemeteries. Restrictions of celebrations Following the end of the civil war in May 2009 the Sri Lankan government and its security forces have clamped down on any attempt at commemorating Maaveerar Naal and destroyed the remaining LTTE cemeteries. All Maaveerar Naal commemorations have been banned. Critics of the ban argue that the Sri Lankan government is denying the Tamil people the basic human right to mourn their dead. The ban on commemorations has been criticised by the TNA, the main political party representing Sri Lankan Tamils, who point out that the commemoration of the LTTE dead is banned but that of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna dead is allowed. The JVP waged two violent insurrections against the Sri Lankan government - in 1971 and 1987-89 - which resulted in the death of up to 70,000 people. On 27 November 2012 an attempt by some University of Jaffna students to commemorate Maaveerar Naal by lighting oil lamps was broken by the Sri Lankan security forces who broke the lamps, threatened the students and pointing weapons at them. The following day students staged a peaceful protest against the actions of the security forces but they were met by riot police who attacked and beat the protesters, resulting in at least 20 students being injured and four arrested. In 2016 the Government Minister Mano Ganesan claimed that Maaveerar Naal can be celebrated as it is a human right for people to celebrate their late loved ones but it was wrong to do it with a political motive. He cited that the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)