The Sri Lankan military decided to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the 51 Division’s occupying Headquarters in Jaffna, with a blood donation program, despite previous widely criticised comments from officials previously that the blood of Sinhalese soldiers runs in Tamils who have received treatment.
The blood donation, held on Friday, saw soldiers donate blood in Jaffna.
Meanwhile in Kankesanthurai, the 515 Brigade also held a blood donation to mark its 27th anniversary.
Earlier this year, the governor of the Northern Province said that the blood of Sinhalese soldiers runs in Tamils that have received treatment at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, echoing previous statements he had made about Tamil blood being mixed with Sinhalese.
Senior military officials, such as Major General Hathurusinghe, also said in 2014,
“Our blood is in the majority of the Tamils that live here, therefore Tamils cannot call themselves pure Tamils anymore. Our army’s Sinhalese blood is in Tamils.”