Earlier this month, Sri Lankan soldiers organized yet another blood donation drive in the North-East, despite previous controversial comments by Sri Lankan leaders on ‘Sinhalese blood’ being given to Tamils.
The event, which took place at the Vavuniya General Hospital Blood Bank, saw over 140 members of the 56 Infantry Division donating blood, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lankan army.
While the military claimed the campaign addressed an "urgent need for blood," similar blood donations drives have been met with skepticism and condemnation from Tamil civil society groups and political representatives.
In 2018, 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.”
