Red carpet and Sinhala dancers as Sri Lankan army does ‘charity’ in Jaffna

The Sri Lankan army donated equipment to a charity run by a former LTTE cadre in Jaffna earlier this week, in a militarised ceremony that saw Sinhala Kandyan dancers parade commanders down a red carpet.

The event saw Major General Jagath Kodithuwakku, head of the Sri Lankan security forces in Jaffna, hand the donation over to Sebasthianpillai Selvagayaki a former LTTE cadre who lost both of her arms.

According to the Sri Lankan military her tragic loss occurred “before May 2009 during the peak of the humanitarian operations”. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed and many more maimed during the military offensive.

The handover took place at the Sri Lankan navy run ‘Nature Park Holiday Resort’. According to the Sri Lanka Campaign, the resort is located inside ‘Chundikkulam Bird Sanctuary’ with “reports [suggesting] that many of the Tamil landowners who had originally occupied the land have been refused access to it”.

The Sri Lankan military, which continues to have tens of thousands of troops stationed across the Tamil homeland, regularly publicises its claimed charity work in the North-East. Last month, the Sri Lanka army’s war crimes accused chief reportedly handed over a military-built home to a former Tamil political prisoner who was released from prison earlier this year, in yet another lavish ceremony.

“This is a nauseating military publicity stunt,” said one Tamil activist, who wanted to remain anonymous. “If the Sri Lankan state really wants to help and treat Tamils with dignity and respect, then it should get the military out of the Tamil homeland.”