Tamils across the North-East protested against the visit of the war crimes accused Shavendra Silva this week, as he toured across Sri Lankan military bases and Buddhist viharas in the region.
Silva, who despite international condemnation was promoted to the post of commander of the Sri Lankan army, visited the North-East, where he met with senior military leaders and Buddhist monks.
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He also took part in an event where Sri Lankan troops distributed bicycles to Tamils schoolchildren in Jaffna, the latest in a series of military intrusions into civilian life in the region.
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As he entered Vavuniya, Tamil families of the disappeared continued their protest, calling for international intervention to help locate their forcibly disappeared loved ones. Their struggle, which has resulted in street protests across the Tamil homeland, has gone on for more than 944 days.
The new Sri Lankan commander meanwhile visited the controversial ‘Sri Naga Vihara’ in Jaffna and ‘Nagadeepa Vihara’ in Naninativu, where he received blessings from Buddhist monks, as part of his venture North. He also stopped at one of the many Sri Lankan military memorials in the area, paying tribute to Sri Lankan soldiers.
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See more on Silva’s appointment to head of the Sri Lankan army here.
