Buddhist Stupa to become ‘cultural landmark’ of Jaffna harbour

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 April 2012, 21:30 GMT]
A massive Buddhist Stupa that is being constructed at the Beach Road of Jaffna harbour by the occupying Sinhala military will be the new ‘cultural landmark’ of Jaffna city for vessels coming towards its harbour. The Stupa with pre-fabricated parts and statues, brought from the South, is being built day and night by the Sinhala soldiers. The Stupa is built in the locality of a Saivite Amman temple, between Jaffna Fort and Kurunakar, known as Aluppaanthi, meaning the wharf of the harbour. Many more Buddhist Stupas are hurriedly constructed by the SL military and one of them with extensive residential facilities is going to be just in front of the Jaffna Railway Station. During the liberation war, colonial Sri Lanka constructed a huge Buddha statue overlooking Trincomalee to give a Sinhala Buddhist cultural image to the world-renowned harbour of Eezham Tamils in the East.

There is no difference between what the European colonialists did after their military conquests and what the Sri Lanka's Sinhala military is doing now in the country of Eezham Tamils, commented civil officials in Jaffna.

In the meantime, Sinhala Buddhist Colombo has set its ‘agents’ to engage in a menacing ‘development’ campaign that people in the Jaffna peninsula need ‘cosmopolitanism’ and Tamil lands in the North and East need demographic changes for ‘development’.

The Stupa that is being built in Jaffna harbour is located in an area of predominant Tamil Catholic population. There is not even an iota of Sinhala presence in that area other than the occupying Sinhala military. While Tamil people uprooted from that part during the war are still not allowed to resettle, occupying Colombo has reclaimed land in the adjacent sea to build this new Stupa.

Hundreds of SLA soldiers were engaged in the work since Wednesday evening. The entire area has been lit up during the night to enable to soldiers to work during the nights, said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politician A. Paranchothy, who is an opposition member of the Jaffna Municipal Council.

Sinhala Buddhist clergy to man the new Buddhist Stupas being built, have already arrived in Jaffna, informed sources said.

Already it has been noticed that building Buddhist Stupas in strategic locations along the main highways and in other places have become the most important job assignment of the occupying Sinhala Army in Vanni and in other parts of the North and East.

Jaffna city already has an extensive Buddhist establishment at the Naga Vihara, built in 1950s in the heart of the Jaffna city.

While genocidal Sri Lanka reverts back to medieval times, in what way the international system is able to deliver justice to Eezham Tamils facing structural genocide enacted through a new military model set by the Sinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka, ask social activists in Jaffna.

Colombo's rule of the Tamil country cannot be tolerated any more. India and the international community cannot pretend of not knowing the realities, they further said.

SL Army threatens to destroy Sivan temple to construct Buddhist Vihara in Ki'linochchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 April 2012, 18:38 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lanka Army is said to have planned to demolish the historical Chivanakar Siva temple in Uruththirapuram in Ki'linochchi district and to construct a Buddhist Vihare in that site, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Sritharan has said. The Tamil parliamentarian has urged the Colombo government to stop the demolition of the Hindu temple. Around 40 soldiers of the occupying SLA came to the temple on Friday 27 March evening in three vehicles and entered the temple without the permission from the chief priest and desecrated the temple by walking in their military boots and threatened to destroy the temple and construct a Buddhist vihara at the site.

Thereafter they searched the entire temple including the core centre known as Moolasthanam under the pretext that they received reports that a Buddha statue had been hidden inside the temple.

Failing to locate it, they deployed two policemen and four army men to guard the temple stating that Buddhist scriptures and archaeological findings were buried in the heap of bricks found near the Saiva temple.

Saivaites in the area had rushed to the site and protested against the occupying SL Army desecrating the temple. But, the SL army had threatened the people not to divulge about the search to anyone, especially the media.

The army personnel then left the temple after saying that they would destroy the temple and construct a Buddhist Vihara there.

Hindu Council objects Buddhist Vihara replacing Saiva temple in Kokku'laay

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 March 2012, 16:24 GMT]
The construction of a Buddhist Vihara in the site after the destruction of several decade old Pi'l'laiyaar temple at Kokku'laay in Mullaith-theevu district cannot be allowed, said C.Yogeswaran, Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian in a memorandum to Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister D.M.Jayatrena who also hold the post of Ministry of Buddha Sasana. Mr Yogeswaran has sent the memorandum in the capacity of vice president of All Ceylon Hindu Council.

Yogeswaran has pointed out to the SL Prime Minister that Buddhist Viharas are being constructed in Tamil areas where not a Sinhalese lived earlier.

“I have brought these injustices done to Saivites for your consideration several times. But you have failed to address the issues. Please take immediate steps to stop constructing Buddhist Viharas after destroying the Hindu temples,” said Mr Yogeswaran in his memorandum to the SL Prime Minister.

Viharas are being constructed surrounding the spots where Buddha statues had been planted by the Sri Lanka Army, especially in the vicinity of their camps, in the North and Eastern provinces.

“Such mischievous attempts would lead to animosity between the peoples,” the MP told SL Prime Minister in his letter.

Tamil Saivites and Christians were the natives of Kokku'laay. There was no historical evidence to show that Sinhala Buddhists were living there.

Under the current circumstance, many Hindu temples are being destroyed and Buddhist Viharas are being erupted under the guidance of Buddhist prelates in the North and Eastern provinces. This wanton destruction of Saiva koayils, going on for the last 3 years, could not be allowed any more, the MP further said.

Related Articles:
23.03.12   Colombo accelerates Sinhala colonisation of coastal Vanni
28.02.12   Namal Rajapaksa demands 10 acres of Ilmenite-rich land in Ko..
15.01.12   ‘Structural genocide will be complete in Mullaiththeevu in 2..
06.11.11   Sinhalese forcibly take over paddy lands of Tamils in Thenna..
27.10.11   Fertile Tamil village targeted for Sinhalicisation in Mullai..
18.10.11   Colonising Sinhalese swindle resources while sanctions apply..
18.10.11   Buddhist stupa built in Kokku’laay after brutal attack on Ta..
18.10.11   Sinhala division starts functioning in Mullaiththeevu distri..
26.05.08   Kokku'laay

Buddhist vihares grab Tamil lands for Sinhalicisation in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 January 2012, 21:28 GMT]
Hundreds of acres of lands are being alienated to Buddhist Vihares in Trincomalee district on the instruction of the Colombo government and at the request of the heads of such Vihares, civil sources in Trincomalee told TamilNet. After the war, the SL military-led administration in the district had allocated initially 2 acres per new Buddhist stupa in Tamil areas at Pulmoaddai, Ilaththik-ku'lam, Thiriyaay, Chempiyan-malai in Kuchchave'li DS division. Later, more lands are being allocated at the request of the heads of these Vihares, who aim Sinhalicisation of the Tamil areas. Informed sources said upto 400 acres have been alienated for this purpose.

Most of the lands allocated to the Buddhist Vihares belong to Tamil people who were uprooted from the area.

An entire division named Kadduk-ku'lam pattu, which was earlier under the administration of a Tamil administrative officer when it was a DRO division, was subjected to systematic demographic change. It has now become four separate divisions, Padaviya, Periya Vizhang-ku'lam (Sinhalicised to Morawewa), Gomarankadawala and Kuchchave'li.

Except Kuchchave'li, the other 3 divisions have been Sinhalicised.

Now, after the war, Kuchchave'li is also being systematically targeted for Sinhalicisation, the civil officials said.

Civil sources further alleged that the Sinhala occupiers are engaged in destroying Hindu temples now and recalled how the old Giri Kanda Vihare in Thiriyaay was protected by the Tamil Tigers when the area was under their control.

In the meantime, encroachment of the lands of Tamil people is taking place in large scale along Trincomalee-Kandy highway and Trincomalee-Anuradhapura highway, the sources further said.