The Sri Lankan military has come under renewed criticism after organising a blood donation drive in Mullaitivu, a Tamil district that remains one of the most heavily militarised regions on the island.
The event, held at the Mullaitivu District Mancholai Hospital, saw 100 soldiers participate, with blood collected and processed through the hospital’s facilities.
The drive was coordinated by the 59th Division of the Sri Lankan Army, which operates multiple bases across Mullaitivu — an area that witnessed some of the most brutal atrocities during the final stages of the genocide in 2009. Troops from the 59th Division Headquarters, 591st and 593rd Brigade Headquarters, and several other army battalions, including the 10th and 5th Singh Battalions, 14th and 6th Gemunu Hewa Battalions, and the 6th National Security Battalion, all took part in the event.
Military officials described the drive as an effort to “support the community” and “address blood shortages” at the Mullaitivu District Hospital. However, Tamil residents and rights activists have denounced it as yet another example of the military’s attempt to normalise its pervasive presence in the North-East and rehabilitate its image under the guise of humanitarian service.
For many Tamils, such so-called “community outreach” initiatives are viewed as a continuation of militarisation and state control over their homeland. Local organisations have long accused the Sri Lankan military of using these initiatives to obscure its role in atrocities committed during and after the war.
Human rights observers have repeatedly warned that the military’s activities in civilian spaces undermine efforts toward demilitarisation and reconciliation. Despite international calls for troop withdrawal from the North-East, Sri Lanka maintains one of the world’s highest soldier-to-civilian ratios in these regions, with thousands of acres of land still under military occupation.
The event also highlighted anger over past racist remarks made by senior officials attempting to justify such campaigns. In 2018, the then-governor of the Northern Province sparked outrage when he declared that “Sinhalese blood is being mixed with Tamils” and that “Sinhalese soldiers’ blood runs in Tamils.”
Earlier, in 2014, Major General Hathurusinghe, a senior army commander, made similar statements, saying, “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.”
These remarks, widely condemned at the time, have reinforced perceptions that the Sri Lankan military’s ongoing “humanitarian” activities in the Tamil homeland are less about service and more about dominance.
