2ND LEAD (Update)

Prejudiced Archaeology Dept escalates ethnic tensions in Trincomalee: Civic Councillor

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 June 2019, 23:18 GMT]
Chandirarajah Vipooshan, a member of Trincomalee Town and Gravats Predesiya Saba, says that the overtly prejudiced behaviour of the SL Archaeology Department which selectively promotes the interests of the Sinhala Buddhists has escalated ethnic tensions between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in Trincomalee district. The civic member said it was the SL Archaeology Department, which was instigating construction projects of the monks to accelerate the Sinhala Buddhisication in Thennai-maravadi and in Kanniya. The monks were from different temples. It is the Archaeology Department that coordinates the activities timing the situation prevailing the in the island, he said.



While the monks from Arisimalai and Pulmoaddai were involved in proceeding with the Sinhala Buddhicisation at Thennai-maravadi, a monk from the ‘Wilgam Rajamaha Viharaya’ in Trincomalee was deploying the same approach to Sinhalicise the Kanniyaa hot wells area in the same district, he said.

The situation prevailing after the Easter Sunday attacks, particularly the re-introduction of the Emergency Regulations, has emboldened those who are opposed to reconciliation, he said.

The Archaeology Department had demarcated Kanthasaami-malai hilltop as its property in 2012. The Tamil villagers were blocked from conducting their annual temple feast almost four months ago in March 2019. They were refused to access the hilltop where the temple is located. Now, using the Emergency Regulations combined with the PTA, the construction projects have been stepped up violating the interim orders from the civic councils, he said.

Furthermore, the Eastern Provincial Land Commissioner [a Sinhalese] had sent an instruction to the Divisional Secretary to allocate 4 acres of lands for the construction of a Buddha statue at the junction to Thennai-maravadi.

Mr Vipooshanan belongs to Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal's Social Democratic Party of Tamils (SDPT).

Varatharaja Perumal, widely seen as an agent of Indian Intelligence, was the former Chief Minister of the Northeast Provincial Council during the Indian invasion. In 1990, when the Indian army began withdrawing from the island, Perumal fled to India.

After years of exile in India, under the protection of Indian intelligence agencies, he returned to Jaffna in 2010.

Perumal was urging Tamils to strive to win the hearts of the Sinhalese when he returned to politics in the island.

Now, his party member in the East has gone on record admitting the unworkability of winning the heart of the SL Archaeology Department.











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