Genocide “blood stains” must be cleaned first, demands northern civil society

After President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka launched his ambitious ‘Clean Sri Lanka Project’ (CLP) demands have started coming in from the north to ‘clean the blood stains’ of the genocide first.

A leading student union leader from the North has called upon the government to use the Clean Sri Lanka Project to also clear the blood stains on the hands of the wartime government.

That would be a good start to the CLP and clearing the blood stains should be the priority says S. Sivagajan, Secretary of the Jaffna University Students Union.

“The Government of Sri Lanka is continuously talking much about reconciliation. Also, the government has launched a new project called ‘Clean Sri Lanka’. But, the hands of the government are blood-stained due to the genocide, due to the war forced on a particular race. We the student community are duty bound to demand that they should come forward to clean those blood stains first”.

Srigajan says that through the ‘Clean Sri Lanka Project’, efforts should be made to heal the deep scars and trauma in the minds of the people.

“The objective of the CLP should not stop with cleanliness, public health, keeping streets tidy. That should always be aimed at healing the deep-rooted scars, wounds, and trauma of the war. That is also an act that would clean this country”.

He was speaking to the local media after obtaining the signatures of the students of Jaffna University in a petition to be handed over to the President. The petition seeks to release the political prisoners who are detained for a very long time and those who were rehabilitated and released into society and arrested again. The signed petition was handed over to the ex-combatants Welfare Association.

The petition was part of a signature campaign organized by the ex-combatants Welfare Association. Jaffna University Students also joined the campaign expressing their solidarity in seeking to repeal the ‘draconian’ Prevention of Terrorism Act which has been constantly criticized both locally and at the international level. The signature mobilization campaign is being taken forward in all the districts of the Northern Province.

Jaffna University Students Union leader also accused the government responsible for war crimes and genocide and called upon the government to come forward to address the concerns in the minds of the Tamil people.

“The minds of the Tamil people are filled with tears and concerns apart from dirt and dust. The government should come forward to clean that. This government should answer for the genocide and war crimes”.

The ‘Clean Sri Lanka Project’ was launched by the President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka on the first of January this year (2025). In his inaugural address AKD said he expect “Clean Sri Lanka village councils” to be formed with a view to coordinate people in the project.

President AKD also stressed the CLP is not a time bound project and will continue and will be reoriented as and when required.

“When will this project end? This is not a project that will end. This will be renewed again and again. It will keep on changing in line with the global situations, through which the government will implement its action plan. This is not a project or a plan for a year or two. If it is a project, it would have been in a position to complete it at a particular place.”

He also spoke in detail about the funding for his dream project saying a separate fund would be created to execute the CLP, through what he calls “building a new Sri Lankan state”.

However, civil society activists in the North and East say, that although the project on paper is welcome, there are more priorities like ensuring accountability, addressing allegations of war crimes, demilitarization in the traditional Tamil homeland, and introducing confidence-building measures which if implemented without bias and honestly would pave the way for reconciliation.

With such things not happening the CLP would be yet another project which will go down the drain, they say.

Many civil society organizations in the North and East have supported the demand of the Jaffna University Students Union calling upon the government to first ‘clean the bloodstains of genocide’.