Some Examples of Posters which we have seen in 2009 in Sri Lanka

The President has been singularly successful in convincing the public that a victory against the LTTE was possible.  A myth of LTTE invincibility had developed over time and this had to be dispelled if the people were to tolerate the sacrifices required to defeat the LTTE.  The country has been covered in posters.  This poster, seen next to the temple at Kalutura to the south of Colombo, shows a boy monk blessing a soldier.

This photo was taken on Wednesday April 15th 2009, i.e. before the President declared victory.

 This poster shows a soldier, the President and the Army chief against a backdrop of military hardware.  The poster says of the soldiers, "They shed blood on behalf of us.  This will bear fruit for our children in the future.  Please accept our praises."

We have been very aware of the posters but, of course, the TV and radio have also been extensively used.  Our knowledge of Sinhala is not good enough to follow TV or radio broadcasts.  Posters can  be produced locally and often feature local politicians who are keen to endorse the government's actions.

After the victory we saw this poster above a shop in a predominantly Muslim town near Kandy.  It shows the President in the guise of a classical king.  The words are: "We have a king!  We are eternal children of the king.  We are very proud that this king has re-written our history."  The name of a Muslim group appears at the bottom.  They may have produced this poster to demonstrate their loyalty in a country where recently  the President has said that there are two types of Sri Lankans, those who love their country and those who do not.

Around the country there must be many posters such as this one commemorating a local soldier who died during the recent war.    It says "We wish him Nirvana".  There is no glorification.
The Sri Lankan flag is full of symbolism as you would expect.  Because it is rather dominated by the lion - a symbol of the majority Sinhalese, Sinhala meaning lion - and the leaves of the sacred Bohdi tree in the corners which suggest the special place of Buddhism in the country, this colourful flag is not universally admired.  The green and orange stripes representing the minorities (Muslim, Tamil, Burger etc) seem rather token in comparison.  For a detailed description of the symbolism of the flag, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Sri_Lanka

 

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