Seven held in Sri Lanka for planning to commemorate slain LTTE chief's birth anniversary

Seven persons, including a former councillor, were arrested on Monday in Sri Lanka for planning to publicly commemorate slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran's 64th birth anniversary, police said.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which led the separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland for three decades in the island nation, was finally crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death of Prabhakaran. 

The seven persons, including a former northern provincial councillor VK Shivajilingam, were arrested at Prabhakaran's birthplace at Velvettiturai, police said, adding that they seized a cake and banners from them. 

The persons were later released. 

During the LTTE's 30-year separatist campaign, Prabhakaran's birthday was celebrated as the Hero's Day or Martyr's Day. He used to deliver an annual policy speech of the outfit on the day.