Vesak lanterns were set up by the Sri Lankan military in public places in Jaffna despite warnings not to hold Vesak Day events as the corona spread in the country intensifies.
At the start of this month, it was reported that Sri Lanka had a higher infection rate than India on the basis of the country population.
Sri Lanka's official celebration of Vesak, a festival marking the birth and death of the Buddha, was held in Jaffna this year following instructions from the Prime Minister to “focus on the North and East during Vesak this year”. Last year Vesak was similarly organised by the army amidst the pandemic whereas a number of Tamil events, were either banned by way of injunctions or were subject to intense military surveillance.
Meanwhile, militarisation ramps up on Jaffna streets although travel restrictions imposed last Friday came to end in the district on Tuesday.
