Sri Lanka’s new Commander of the Army said that the military is prepared for an “agricultural revolution” as he met with senior Sinhala Buddhist monks who called for troops to be more “involved in the cultivation process” as militarisation continues on the island.
During a visit to Kandy Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage met with the Maha Sangha, where according to an official army website, he made several offerings to the monks.
According to News First, Liayanage said the clergy “requested for troops to be more involved in the cultivation process, given the situation in the country”.
Sri Lanka’s soldiers are already extensively involved in several agricultural, tourist and other business ventures, particularly in the Tamil North-East, where the livelihoods of Tamil farmers continues to be undercut by the military’s entrenched occupation.
Amidst the heightened fear of surveillance and prosecution fostered by the militarization and policing of the Tamil homeland, Tamils continue to protest against military land grabs and demand for the de-militarization of the northeast.
Liyanage has held significant command, staff and instructional appointments in the Gajaba Regiment, a regiment implicated in atrocities in Vishwamadu, Puthukkudiyiruppu and Puttumattalan during the culmination of the genocide. These locations are referenced in detail as places where alleged war crimes and grave human rights violations occurred based on the United Nations Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL).
Since the culmination of the Mullivaikkal massacre in 2009, Vikum Liyanage has been decorated with several medals and awards by the Sri Lankan state.
