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The Sri Lankan military held a special prayer service for themselves during the annual festival at Nagulesvaram Sivan temple in Keerimalai this week.
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According to the Ministry of Defence's 'civil military coordination - Jaffna' website, soldiers from the 513 brigade, wearing vertis, cleaned the temple surroundings and provided meals to the local people at their request.
Meanwhile however, Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, told delegates gathered at a conference in Washington this week that "involvement of the military in civilian activities has ceased". See more of his speech here.
The military's ongoing involvement in Tamil affairs almost 6 years after the end of the armed conflict has been widely condemned with numerous calls for the new president, Maithripala Sirisena to demilitarise the North-East.
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Sri Lankan military taking livelihoods of Tamils says North's chief minister (27 Jan 2015)
Sri Lanka military hands out chickens in Kilinochchi (14 Jan 2015)
Military recruits Tamil youths to work in army farm (14 Jan 2015)
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