{"id":109560,"date":"2020-12-09T18:17:47","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T01:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109560"},"modified":"2020-12-09T18:18:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T01:18:25","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-18b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/09\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-18b\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 18B"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

After\nEelam war IV ended, Tamil Separatist Movement returned to the topic of the Sinhalisation\nof North and East. They were concerned about three matters, Sinhala\nsettlements, Buddhist temples and archaeological sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhala colonies, Buddhist temples, and Buddha statues were being aggressively constructed with military sponsorship, said Tamil Separatist Movement. The purpose was to bifurcate Tamil speaking areas, alter the demography of the north and east, and to encourage \u2018Sinhala Buddhisation\u2019 of the Tamil homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settlements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nwere many allegations of state- and army-assisted Sinhala occupation of\nagricultural and private land.  In 2014,\nTamil Separatist Movement feared that   \nvesting   state land in National\nHousing Development Authority, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Department of\nArchaeology and the Mahaweli Authority will lead to Sinhalese settling on the\nland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2016 Tamil Peoples\u2019 Council (TPC) said that the government had deliberately\nsettled more than 10,000 Sinhalese families in Navatkuli, Murunkan, Mullaitivu,\nand Vavuniya where previously there were no Sinhalese. The Eluga\nTamil rally of September2016 in Jaffna demanded an immediate halt to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

,\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nmedia reported that In Navatkuli, 10 kilometers from Jaffna, a Sinhala village\nhad been started in 2010. 57 families had received around 20 perches each. We\ncame here in 2010. We gathered all Sinhalese who once lived in Jaffna and those\nwho wanted to live here once again by placing a newspaper advertisement. In the\nearly 1980s, we had received state-owned land in Jaffna. That area is now\noccupied by Tamils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 For three months we stayed at the Jaffna\nrailway station. We then occupied this land. There were a hundred people with\nme. I lived in a hut for almost a year. Thereafter we received a donation from\na Sinhala philanthropist. Later, with the support of the Buddhist priest, who\nalso took up residence here, we started to construct our houses, said the\nspokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nAugust 2016, Galagodaathe Gnanasara, head of Bodu Bala Sena, said that the\nSinhalese in Kokeliya, the only Sinhala village in Vavuniya were being chased\naway. There were about          2500\nfamilies initially but they were moved away to other villages during the\nwar.  About 170 came back but now there\nare only 35 families there. They do not receive even the basic needs provided\nto the Tamils. They do not step out of house during nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mannar\nUnited Fishermen\u2019s Association protested in November 2016, against a plan to\nsettle 180 Sinhala fishermen and create a Sinhala fishing village in Musali,\nMannar. Officials arriving to survey the land were sent away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 there\narose an issue over Sinhala settlements in Mullaitivu district. The Accelerated\nMahaweli scheme had created System L which included the districts of\nMullaitivu, Anuradhapura, and Vavuniya. The divisional secretariats were at\nWelioya, Padawiya and Vavuniya South. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil\nSeparatist Movement complained that System L. was activated even before any\nwater had come there. A new system was\ncreated under the Mahaweli Development Program designated system “L”\nunder which system though no water had been diverted under Mahaweli to the\nNorth, land was alienated to persons from the majority community in an area\ncalled “Manal Aru” or “Welioya”. There were protests   and System L programme was suspended. But\nduring the UPFA government (2005-2015) there was some settlement of\nSinhalese   in System L. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September\n2018 TNA complained that settlement had again started in System L. There is a\nproposal to settle persons from outside of Mullaitivu in the Mahaweli System L\nlands. TNA told the North-East Development Committee of the Yahapalana government,\nthat Yahapalana government was going ahead with this project in System L while\ndenying that new settlements were being created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should\nnot be allowed, said TNA. If water was brought to Mullaitivu from outside, the\nlands in Mullaitivu without irrigation facilities should receive it first, and\nthe people who own and cultivate the lands should be the beneficiaries.\nLandless people in Mullaitivu must be also made beneficiaries under such a\nprogram. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October\n2018, TNA complained to President Sirisena that 700 acres in System L. had been\nallocated for the Sinhalese. Although, the President said that this was not so,\nthe project was underway, TNA said. These new Sinhala settlements posed a major\nthreat to Tamil fishing community and also deprived the Tamils of their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Television\nnews on 30.8.18 showed a demonstration to stop the settlement of Sinhalese at\nMahaweli System L. Government said that all the settlers were Tamil.  If Tamils can buy land in Wellawatte why can\u2019t\nSinhalese go to Mahaweli, asked a journalist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern\nProvincial Council decided in 2018 to appoint an\nexpert committee to conduct an investigation as regards the alleged settlement\nof Sinhalese in four administrative districts, including Mullaitivu. The\nproposed committee would inquire into all Sinhala settlements established over\nthe years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, <\/strong>Prime\nMinister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament that Sinhalese were not\nresettled in Vavuniya after renovating the Kachchalsamalakkulama tank on land\nwhich belonged to the Forest Conservation Department. No steps have\nbeen taken to change the demography in the districts he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land settlement\nbecame an issue in the Eastern province as well. In the east, land was brought\nunder Tamil control by using cattle. Land was converted to grazing lands for\ncattle owned by Tamils. This trick was used  \nin Eelam War IV to gain access to Trincomalee harbor to bomb it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nVeheragodayaya, Polonnaruwa ,  land  had been taken over for such  cattle grazing despite opposition. Derana\nnews of 6.12.20  showed bhikkhus going to\nthe site and removing the cattle sheds after a confrontation with the\npolice.  \u2018We removed these cattle sheds  last week, they have  constructed them again,\u2019 the monks exclaimed\nand removed them all over again, assisted by the laity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In October 2020,Eastern Province Governor\nAnuradha Yahampath  gave lands in\nMailetthamadu in Divulapathana to  Sinhala\nfarmers for cultivation. Divulapathana \nis on the border of  Batticaloa\nand Ampara Districts. The TNA MPs  promptly\nobjected saying these were traditional grasslands. These lands  had been grasslands for the cattle of the\nTamils for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted\nthe order revoked. Yahampath had dismissed the request. Agriculture must be encouraged\nfirst.  TNA threats would not prevent her\nfrom promoting agriculture in the area at a time when the country needed food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor\nYahampath then visited dairy farmers in Divulapathana-Ayilaththamadu area, and  \nfound a few hundred cattle without water or food. She asked  South Eastern University to do a survey on\ncattle farming and grasslands in Batticaloa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor\nYahampath,  told TNA Parliamentarians\nthat it was neither her policy, nor the policy of the Government to demarcate\nor even separate lands based on ethnicity. Lands have never been demarcated based\non ethnicity such as Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At  the  Batticaloa District Coordinating\nCommittee meeting,  in November 2020,\nGovernor Yahampath had a heated exchange of words, with  TNA MPs over Divulapathana. She had\nreprimanded the TNA MPs. This is an official meeting and I expect  MPs to behave responsibly and decently. I am\none of the co-chairpersons of this meeting. Your behavior not only disrespects\nme, but also this Chair. You should be ashamed of yourselves, she said. It\nappears that , unlike in the old days, Sinhalese are now not afraid to stand up\nto Tamil Separatism. They are getting  fed up with Tamil Separatism as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People in the north  were\nworried and suspicious that Sinhalese from outside would invade their  villages because Buddhist temples were being\nconstructed in places where no Buddhist reside, \nsaid Tamil Separatist Movement .   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddha Viharas are sprouting like mushrooms in areas where there\nare no Buddhists. Buddha statues have come up in front of the 2500 year old Thirukoneswara\nHindu temple in Trincomalee and the Thiruketheeswaram temple in North West Sri\nLanka. A Buddha Vihara has come up in front of the hot water springs in Kinniya\n   which is sacred to Saivite Hindus. A Buddha\nstatue has come up in Sambaltheevu with police protection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Kokkilai in Mullaitivu district, a Buddha Vihara is coming up\nwith army support despite a claim to the land by a local Tamil. In all, there\nare nine Buddha Viharas being built in Mullaitivu district alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other places\nin the Northern Province where Buddha Viharas are coming up are Omanthai,\nSemmadu, Kanakarayankulam, Kilinochchi, Mankulam ,Paranthan and Pooneryn. A 67\nfoot Buddha statue is coming up in front of the Nainai Nagabhooshani Amman\nHindu temple,   TNA concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern\nProvince Governor Reginold Cooray  said\nin 2016  that there are only 13 Buddhist\ntemples in the entire Northern Province and that there is nothing wrong in\nconstructing Buddhist temples there. Many big Hindu temples are being built\nthere and many Christian sects have put up structures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a\nclash over a  Buddhist temple at\nNavatkuliya. Ven. Sooriyawewa Sumedha, Convener, National Intellectual Sangha\nCouncil, said there are over 57 Buddhist families living in the Navatkuliya\nvillage and a temple, Navatkuliya Sri Samiddhi Sumana Viharaya,  had been built as a place of worship for the\nresidents. There was a request from the residents for the construction of\na  chaitya and the construction work\nstarted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chavakachcheri\nPradeshiya Sabha refused to give permission and instead filed the case against\nthe construction of the Chaitya.  In July\n2017,  Chavakachcheri Magistrate S.\nChandrasekeran ordered the Chavakachcheri Pradeshiya Sabha to permit the\nconstruction of the temple’s stupa without any hindrance. The Magistrate  said that she respects Buddhism even though\nshe is a Hindu devotee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven. Kotapola\nAmarakiththi Founder of the Shanthi Foundation, \napplauded the verdict. Even though, she is not a Buddhist, the way she\nrespected Buddhism is a great example to everyone. These exemplary acts should\nbe followed by many extremist politicians, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nJuly  2019 a Hindu-Buddhist conflict\ndeveloped in Trincomalee over a mound found near the Kinniya hot wells. Archaeological Department had gone there to\ndo some routine conservation work. In the process some bricks had got dug up.\nBuddhist and the Hindus both claimed these bricks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhikkhus\nsuch as Ven. Ampitiye Seelavansa of Velgam vihara    said they belonged to an Anuradhapura era\nstupa which has been leveled and a Hindu temple built on top. Hindus said this\nwas the ruins of a Pillaiyar kovil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nlocals were extremely aggressive towards the conservation work, said the\nArchaeological Department. A crowd of Tamils had gathered.  Tamil politicians had also come.  Television news showed the  two groups fighting. Police, riot squad and\nSpecial Task Force were called in. Police came with a magistrate order, to stop\nthe protest, that it would cause communal tensions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter,\nKokila Ramani, a resident of Trincomalee, petitioned the Provincial High\nCourt,  saying the land where the\nKinniya  hot springs are located belonged\nto her and the Archaeology Department is trying to construct a Buddhist\nstructure there without her permission. The Department plans to construct a\ntemple on the site of a Hindu kovil and Hindu devotees are being obstructed\nfrom entering the site by the Department, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TNA\nParliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran appeared for her.  Provincial High Court Judge M. Illanchiyan\nissued an interim injunction suspending the conservation of the Kinniya hot\nsprings which will remove the alleged ruins of a Hindu kovil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August\n2019,both Hindus and Buddhists held religious activities at Kinniya. Hindu\ndevotees performed the traditional Amavasa Pooja to worship the dead near\nremnants of a Hindu kovil at the premises, while Buddhist devotees led by\nBuddhist monks performed an Adhishtana Pooja near an ancient Dagoba at the\npremises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the\ngroups performed religious activities peacefully and the security in the area\nwas tightened for the event. Special Police teams had been deployed and\nanti-riot squad teams were placed in the vicinity ready to be deployed if\nneeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November\n2020   the Tamil politicians of\nMullaitivu District and the TNA  protested  against the construction of a Buddhist temple\nat Bogaswewa near the Sapumalgaskada archaeological site. The chief incumbent\nof the temple had secured the help of the security forces to make bricks using\nclay from the shrub jungle area and trees were being felled in nearby jungle to\nfire the bricks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The protestors claim that the area\ntraditionally belongs to the Tamil people and it was known as\nKachchcalsamalankulam. Tamil people have been given paddy fields and they are\ncultivating them with water from the Kachchalsamalankulam tank. It is wrong for\nBuddhist monks to come and construct a temple in an area which is predominantly\nTamil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman\nfor the temple said that Sapumalgaskada area had been identified as a site of\narchaeological importance and there were ruins of Buddhist shrines, which were\nsome thousands of years old and it was wrong to claim it was not a Buddhist\nsite. The bhikkhus had only revived a temple close to the archaeological site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have\nbeen open conflicts over these issues observed analysts. There was one conflict\nin Mullaitivu, between Hindus and Buddhists, over the rights to land and to\nbuild temples. There was another conflict in Trincomalee over the\nbuilding of a temple in the vicinity of the Kinniya hot wells, which according\nto legend was used by King Ravana. Both\nof these conflicts have led to the local mobilization of hundreds of people to\nprotest, said analysts  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil\nPeoples\u2019 Council  led by C.V.Wigneswaran,\nhad   invited people to  join a mass\nprotest in Jaffna on September 24, 2016 ( Eluga Tamil)  to demand a stop to the construction of\nBuddha statues and Buddhist temples in areas in the Northern Province where\nthere are no Buddhists, and the systematic settlement of Sinhalese in Tamil\nareas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not\nonly Hindus and Buddhists who are in conflict in the North. In the Mannar\ndistrict the conflict is between Hindus and Christians over the construction of\nbig arches in front of each other\u2019s places of worship that would signify the\ndominance of one over the other, observed Jehan Perera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeological  sites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 TNA said that the establishment of a\nPresidential Task Force for Archeological Heritage Management in\nthe Eastern Province as \npublished in Gazette Extraordinary Number 2178\/17 of June 02\n2020 is bad for ethnic harmony. The\nTask Force is Pan Sinhala and is clearly meant to serve the interests of one\ncommunity, the Sinhalese, and one religion, Buddhism ,admittedly, the majority\nreligion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one\nobjects to the protection, preservation and promotion of Buddhism. If anyone is\nacting in violation of the Law, relating to any Buddhist site the severest\naction should be taken. Existing Law enforcement institutions should perform\nthis task, said TNA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Buddhist temples and monuments exist on lands\nadequate for that purpose. They have so existed for centuries. No additional land\nis required to fulfill that purpose.  Additional\nland is required only  to convert\nnew  areas into Sinhala Buddhist areas,\npopulated by Sinhala Buddhist Citizens, violating the occupational and\nresidential needs of Tamil and Tamil speaking people , charged TNA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is\nattempted through this task force is to settle Sinhalese in new sites, under\nthe guise of protecting, preserving and promoting Buddhism, and thereby convert\nthe Eastern Province and as much as possible of the Northern Province into\nmajority Sinhalese Areas. This will also sever the Tamil  linguistic contiguity between the Northern\nand Eastern Provinces, continued TNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tamil\nHindu people have lived  in the north and\neast from time immemorial, long before the advent of Vijaya.  The Isvarams of Lord Siva at Tirukketiswaram,\nat Mantota,Tirukkoneswaram at Trincomalee , and Nakuleswaram near\nKankesanturai” existed before Vijaya. Thirukoneshwaram\nis referred to as Dakshana Kailas in the Puranas, said TNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eastern\nProvince  is a multi ethnic\nprovince,  but majority has always been\npredominantly Tamil speaking. Since Independence in 1947 there had been\nstrenuous efforts to convert Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Amparai and the Eastern\nProvince into majority Sinhala speaking areas. The Sinhala population in the\nTrincomalee District and in the Amparai District  greatly increased between 1947 and 1981. This\nwas entirely caused by colonization, settling of Sinhalese from outside the\nNorth East on land in the Eastern province. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Northern\nand Eastern Provinces adjoining each other are majority Tamil speaking and have\nTamil Linguistic contiguity. The breaking up of the Tamil linguistic continuity\nbetween the Eastern and Northern provinces has been an objective of\nmajoritarian political leadership for a long time declared  the TNA.  ( Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS After Eelam war IV ended, Tamil Separatist Movement returned to the topic of the Sinhalisation of North and East. They were concerned about three matters, Sinhala settlements, Buddhist temples and archaeological sites. Sinhala colonies, Buddhist temples, and Buddha statues were being aggressively constructed with military sponsorship, said Tamil Separatist Movement. The purpose was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}