Militarisation: Buddhist ceremony for new Sri Lankan army building in PTK

by Thusiyan
Jun 14, 2019

The Sri Lankan army held a Buddhist ceremony in Mullaitivu on Wednesday, where the 68 Division announced it will be constructing its new headquarters as militarisation expands in the Tamil homeland.

Major General Aruna Ariyasinghe, General Officer Commanding, 68 Division, laid the foundation stone for the new headquarters in Puthukudiyiruppu, as two Buddhist monks watched on and chanted religious prayers.

The expansion of the Sri Lankan military presence comes despite repeated concerns from local Tamils. The Mullaitivu district alone has tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the region, with as many as 1 soldier for every two civilians in the district.

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Amaran - Problematic propaganda

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The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

 

 

 

The patriotic military films of Tamil cinema had taken a back seat for a while. The subject matter is now seldom a prominent theme of a film, instead lurking in the shadows peeking through such as via the heroes in the works of Nelson Dilipkumar. The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

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Official trailer for film below.

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