Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said it was the time for the Sri Lankan communities to forget the past history and move ahead.
Addressing a gathering in the former LTTE administrative capital of Kilinochchi on Friday, he said the island cannot live in the past.
"It is time that Sri Lankan communities forget and forgive the past difficult history and move forward," Wickremesinghe said.
"We all must admit that mistakes were made, apologise to each other and moved forward to achieve reconciliation," her said.
He also underlined the need for a process of truth and reconciliation.
Last week, the prime minister proposed to the Cabinet to set up a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" to deal with issues of the post conflict reconciliation.
Wickremesighe said legal action against those responsible may achieve nothing but a lot more could be achieved by forgiving and forgetting the past.
-Agencies
