Speaking to Colombo papers following what he described as a 'fact finding mission' in Jaffna, Sri Lanka's law and order minister, Ranjith Bandara, said he had concluded that it was Tamil films that was fuelling the gang violence in Jaffna.
"These Tamil youths were emulating the violent scenes to instill fear before carrying out their criminal activities such as robberies," he was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.
"They brandish swords to terrorise the people," he added.
Announcing his intention to visit the North-East, Mr Bandara's team had said earlier this week that the minister was travel in order to "defuse the pro-LTTE mindset in the area".
“There is only a pro LTTE mindset among the people in the area and that will be got rid of sooner or later. It will not be easy but we will do it. We will not allow the LTTE come back again,” the deputy minister had said.