[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 August 2017, 23:06 GMT]Occupying Colombo, its military and the exclusivist Sinhala Buddhist
Theravada Establishment have jointly adopted the Western colonial model
of religious conversations of poverty-stricken people at the lowest
echelons forcing the Tamil people to convert to Buddhism and start
learning Sinhala language. The forced religious conversions are being
staged at two separate locations, Navatkuzhi and Puththoor, in the
occupied Jaffna peninsula. High-ranking monks including the Chief
Prelate (Mahanayakas thero) of the Asgiriya chapter have been scheduled
to inspect the genocidal project of Sinhala-Buddhicisation at Puththoor
in Valikaamam East and at Naavatkuzhi, informed sources in Jaffna told
TamilNet on Sunday.
This is the result of genocidal ‘reconciliation’ being promoted by the
West, based on a counter-insurgency model of ‘development- and
environment’ diplomacy that operates hand in hand with the Sinhala ‘Army
and Archaeology’ against the interests of the occupied nation of Eezham
Tamils, commented Tamil political observers in Jaffna.
They also
blamed New Delhi, which has been legitimizing Colombo's culture of
genocide through its continuous appeasement of Buddhist links with the
South and its lopsided approach that has failed to restore the parity
between the Tamil and Sinhala nations in the island towards a negotiated
settlement to the Tamil national question. It is New Delhi, which is
going to be the ultimate loser, once again, they further commented.
Naavatkuzhi
is a major junction located 5 km east of Jaffna city, where the two
highways A9 and A32 that come from the south join and enter into the
city.
More than 300 uprooted, war-affected and poverty-stricken
Tamils have been languishing without a housing scheme at Naavatkuzhi
while a Sinhala colony forcibly launched at the locality by the
occupying military and extremist Sinhala Buddhist groups such as
‘Sinhala Ravaya’, has been accorded with housing scheme from Colombo’s
‘National’ Housing Development Authority (NHDA) in January 2017.
Colombo
has also provided the Sinhala colonists with infrastructure assistance.
A Buddhist Vihara is being rapidly erected at the key junction.
When
the housing scheme was introduced, Colombo deceived ITAK leader Mavai
Senathirajah with false promises. Mr Senathiraja was instrumental in
silencing the NPC through C.V.K. Sivagnanam, the Speaker of NPC.
The
argument put forward by the Sinhala NHDA officials was that the Tamil
families languishing at the locality would be awarded with 100 houses as
donation if Tamil representatives agreed not to object the construction
of 50 houses to Sinhala colonists. The ITAK politicians also silenced
NPC Councillor M.K. Sivagilingam who had vowed to protest against the
Sinhalicisation.
However, no housing scheme was given to Tamils.
Now,
the Sinhala colonists are visiting the huts of Tamil families with a
new promise. If the Tamil families converted to Buddhism and enlisted
their children to study Sinhala, they would be given brand new houses,
they tell. Some poverty stricken Tamils are being deceived by this new
tactic.
A Tamil settlement named ‘Ketpali’ was created during
the times of the LTTE, between 1990-1995 at Naavatkuzhi. Later, the
people were displaced due to the war. After 2009, they have been
struggling without proper housing, infrastructure and livelihood
assistance.
In the meantime, some Sinhala families brought from South with claims of
earlier residence at various locations in Jaffna due to their past
employment, were brought to Navatkuzhi by the SL military during the
regime of Rajapaksa.
There are two camps of the SL military and one STF commando post to protect the Sinhala colonists.
At
the same time, Sinhala Buddhist monks are also concentrating on
converting the poverty-stricken Tamil families at Vaatharavaththai, a
locality in Puththoor of Valikaamam East division in Jaffna, into
Theravada Buddhists.
A monk from ‘Sri Nagavihara’ Establishment
in Jaffna city regularly visits Vaatharavaththai to teach the Tamil
children Sinhala language. It is a second attempt to Sinhalicise the
Tamil people at Vaatharavaththai.
Already in 1978, the late SL
President R. Premadasa, while he was prime minister in the government
headed by J.R. Jayewardene, was trying to achieve the same objective at
Vaatharavaththai.
Monks were deployed and a school named
‘Puththoor Madige Panchaseela Vidyalaya’ accompanied with a Buddhist
temple were launched in 1978 aiming to convert the Tamils into Theravada
Buddhists and to transform them into Sinhalese.
However the
1978 attempt of Sinhala Buddhicisation didn't succeed as the Sinhala
monks had to withdraw from the peninsula due to rise of Tamil militancy.
Now,
the Sinhala Buddhist Establishment is again trying to victimise the
poverty-stricken, war-affected Tamils, especially those at the lowest
echelon of the society, by supplying tools, clothes and other forms
assistance with the attached condition that they should convert
themselves and become Theravada Buddhists. The monks are also trying to
put up a Buddhist temple at Puththoor, news sources in Valikaamam East
said.
Chronology:
