KAMALIKA PIERIS

There are several dimensions of anti-Buddhist activity   in the north and east which the Buddhist lobby must deal with, if it wishes to ‘Buddhistize’ the north and east. Firstly, there is the legal dimension. Law suits are used to obstruct or delay work on Buddhist sites in the north east. Kurundi is an example.

Tamil Separatist Movement invented charges against the Kurundi project. In September 2018, Santhabodhi and group went off to Kurundi to start work, having informed the police and the Vavuniya division of the Archaeology Department. But they found that they also needed permission from the Forest Department and so they turned back. On the returned journey they were ambushed and attacked by a large group of Tamils. The reason given was that the Kurundi team was going to install a huge Buddha statue at Kurundi. This was a lie.

Tamil Separatist Movement next complained that the Kurundi team was disturbing the peace. They were doing nothing of the sort.  It is the Tamil Separatist   group led by Raviharan   who were disturbing the peace. The magistrate decided that Kurundi team was in the wrong and ordered the Department of Archaeology to stop work.

 In this manner, Tamil Separatist Movement used the law to paralyze the work at Kurundi. Today, several court cases relating to Kurundi are pending in the Magistrate Court and Court of Appeal. There are three cases in Court of Appeal 474/23, 483/23 528/23, and I think just one in Mullaitivu. I am told that Court of Appeal cases are being heard while the Magistrate court case is getting delayed.

 Since the cases are pending, the Department of Archaeology is forced to stop work. Kurundi is now unable to proceed to the next stage of conservation which is to complete the pilimage and set the boundary stones. Pilimage ruins are collapsing. The lawyers who belong to the Buddhist lobby should be able to find a way out of this. Buddhists generally never give in, though they often appear to be sound asleep.

Lawyers appearing for Kurundi had their own complaints. They complained bitterly that the courts were biased towards the Tamil Separatist Movement. They complained that the Magistrate only listened to one side and that   court orders were based only on what the Tamil side said.

They also stated that all proceedings at the Magistrate court in Mullaitivu were in Tamil. The final order was also in Tamil. Kurundi had to get the order translated. They did so without any protest.  Kurundi team had been told that there were no translators for Sinhala. Kurundi accepted this also without question.

 The Buddhist lobby must insist that   matters that pertain to Buddhist ruins in the north and east should be   argued in Sinhala. Also that all court proceedings in Tamil must carry a Sinhala translation.

Lawyers dealing with the Kurundi case criticized state authorities. They went at them more strongly than the Tamil opposition. They critiqued the Department of Archaeology and Buddha Sasana Ministry for not appearing in   court to provide counter arguments.

 They said that it was the duty of the DG/Archaeology to go before courts and make a statement regarding the archaeological value of Kurundi. In India, a Hindu temple was declared a Buddhist one by courts,   on the information provided by the Department of archaeology, they complained to the media.   https://youtu.be/ymNe915HJKw

We saw the Tamils come drunk to Kurundi led by Raviharan, continued the lawyers. But they were not arrested. Instead police told courts that the Buddhist had disturbed the peace. Department of Archaeology had failed to get a stop order against the Raviharan group.   And when the Raviharan group said they had a stop order, the Department of Archaeology and the Buddhasasana Ministry did not ask to see that stop order, they added.

Lawyers observed that when the Buddhist temple cases came up in court, there were no Buddhists in the court room to  give   them support .That  is simply because  the Buddhists are not told when  the case  is going to be heard. If they are told, then they will turn up. They have done so on other occasions when they felt that Buddhist interests were threatened,    for example, at funeral of Ven.  Gangodawila Soma.  Alerting the Buddhist public is very easy today, thanks to social media.   There should be a regular bulletin on the progress of these cases.

The Buddhist lobby is watching the lawsuits against Kurundi as best as they can. This is evident  when you listen to the   discussions on You Tube. One participant  impatiently cut in to a panel discussion  on You Tube, which was going on and on, talking about the birds  and bees at Kurundi, to ask bluntly Is the court case over”. No, but we have started work again, came the reply (2022).

Lawyers complained that in the case of law suits in the Eastern Province, it was the Sinhala officers in the court who obstructed them, usually by   delaying to provide the necessary documents. This was part of the modus operandi of the Tamil Separatist Movement .Tamil Separatist Movement   uses willing Sinhala accomplices to achieve its purpose. If the Buddhist lobby, instead of meekly accepting this, showed aggression and demanded prompt action, the required documents will    promptly materialize, said activists.

One of the obstacles facing Buddhist temples in north and east is that from 1988, the Pradeshiya Sabha was made responsible for registering temples. In 1988 Presidnet Premadasa,   gave the power of registering Buddhist temples to the Pradeshiya sabha. The Pradeshiya Sabhas in the north and east are using this to strangle Buddhism in the region. The Pradeshiya Sabha is making it impossible to develop Buddhist temples in the north and east, complained the Buddhist lobby. Pradeshiya Sabhas are destroying Buddhism in the north and east.

Some temples are fighting back.Chavakachcheri Pradeshiya Sabha filed a case against the construction of a Chaitya at Navatkuli temple.  They lost the case. Magistrate ordered PS to allow the construction. Pradeshiya Sabha opposed the construction of .Tissa Raja Maha Vihara, at Thaiyiddi, Jaffna and took the matter to courts. The temple ignored the Pradeshiya Sabha and continued with the construction. 

Boralukanda Vihara at Iluppukulam in Nilaveli was ordered to halt further construction .The affected bhikkhus barged into a DDC meeting at Trincomalee, challenged the right of the PS to interfere in the matter and demanded that the order be withdrawn. It was withdrawn.

On August 21, 2023 a set of Buddhist organizations, went to the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, in a group, carrying posters. They were not allowed to enter, they were met outside the Ministry by an official. They handed over a letter fromSasana rakaganeemata goleeya Sinhala ekamutuva” asking that the power to register Buddhist  tramples be given to the Commissioner of Buddhist affairs. This was a legitimate request which the Ministry was obliged to entertain

Then  this group turned and addressed the media, who were waiting with their  mikes and cameras. It is now impossible to keep temples  going in north and east  , they told the media. .in Mannar, the Tamils and  Catholics are powerful. They do not allow  us to start Buddhist  temples there.

We are a Sinhala-Buddhist country.  The government  is obliged to look after Buddhism, and we  make this appeal on that basis. Registration of temples must be given to the Buddhist affairs Commission. If that is not done, we will go from village to  village and alert the monks and the temples and then we will return  to this Ministry with an impressive crowd , to show  the ‘bauddha janatavage mathaya’, they told the media. https://youtu.be/nRNjY7KRVZ4      

Ministry of Buddha Sasana  does not seem very interested in the plight of the  Buddha Sasana in  the north and east. It does not seem to have made an appearance in the issues relating to Buddhist temples in north and east.

This Ministry  has a problem.  It is not exclusively for Buddhist matters. The Ministry of Buddhasasana, is also the Ministry of  Religious and Cultural Affairs. It has three main areas , Buddhist Affairs, Other Religious Affairs and Cultural Affairs. This prevents it from working exclusively for Buddhist matters.

There is a You Tube clip of Minister Vidura Wickramanayake which is captioned, greeting Tamil protestors in Batticaloa.  But he seems to have gone there to try and settle some matter. https://youtu.be/qgqJjoxxL3Q. ( Continued)