Dateline returns on 21st February
Tuesdays 9.30pm on SBS ONE

Culture Clash

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This week Dateline invites you inside Jaffna's public library, a building with a tortured history that echoes Sri Lanka's long civil conflict.

The library was once one of the largest in Asia and a source of enormous pride for the Tamil community.

But the building was torched in 1981, during riots following the shooting of three Sinhalese police at a Tamil political rally. As result, almost 100,000 books were destroyed, including irreplaceable manuscripts written on palm leaves. A treasure trove of Tamil culture and history was lost forever.

Almost 20 years later, the library was fully rebuilt by the government.
 
However the restoration itself is generating controversy. Many local Tamils feel it is an attempt to whitewash the past, and believe the ruins should have remained as a permanent memorial.

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On air: 10th May 2009

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