The commander of the occupying SL military in Jaffna, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, together with all of his senior officers and a section of soldiers, observed a ‘Sil’ campaign on Thursday, according to a news release by the SL military in Jaffna. At the event, the SL commander Hathurusinghe and his personnel were all clad in white. In contrast, the occupying SL commander and his officers have been wearing military uniform while entering Hindu temples, an act considered as showing disrespect to the deities and as desecrating the shrines, observers in Jaffna commented. One of the topics discussed by the Buddhist clergy and the academics at the Buddhist religious event on Thursday was ‘music therapy as a remedy to youth unrest’, the news release by the SL military further revealed.
Hathurusinghe performing Buddhist religious ritual at the Sil campaign on Thursday
Hathurusinghe in half uniform, performing rituals in May 2011 at the Changkaanai Murukamoorthi temple, the priest of which was allegedly killed by SL military intelligence
Hathurusinghe [left] with his officers and soldiers at Sil campaign on Thursday
SLA soldiers at the prayer show at the Hindu temple of Changkaanai Murukamoorthi in May 2011
Together with Buddhist monks, Professor Gnanadasa Perera, a psychologist from the department of Pali and Buddhist Studies at the University of Sri Jayewardnepura and Dr. Gamini Ratna Sri from the same university took part in delivering lectures to the SL military in Jaffna.
All together 2,000 military personnel took part in the Sil campaign.
SLA soldiers at Buddhist prayers on Thursday
Hathurusinghe behind the visitng Buddhist monk to Vihara in Jaffna on Thursday
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