KAMALIKA PIERIS

The contested sites” issue at   Kurundi was created by the Tamil Separatist Movement. Tamil Separatist Movement announced, untruthfully, that there was an ancient kovil on the site of the Kurundi monastery.  Tamil Separatist Movement said that for generations Tamil people believed that an old Hindu temple, known as Aathi Sivan Kovil, was located there .This was false. There was never any kovil at Kurundi, only ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery.

Tamil Separatist Movement announced their strong opposition to the renovation of the Kurundi stupa.  They engaged in Protests” and spoke of Provocation” and Persecution”.

Tamil Separatist Movement has engaged in loud protests against the excavation at Kurundi. These protests held many untruths and exaggerations. MP Charles Nirmalanathan said in Parliament on August 6, 2022    that Buddhists were destroying the Hindu kovil at Kurundi.  M.A. Sumanthiran had   said in Parliament in    April 2023 that soldiers broke the trident” worshipped by the Hindu Tamils and threw it into the shrubs”. YARL TV – Official said in July   2023 that Hindus had been prevented from performing Pongal at Kurundi. Their offering had been kicked away.

Charles Nirmalanathan said in Parliament on August 6, 2022 that there was a plan to settle Buddhists there.  They were planning to hand over lands traditionally   held by Tamils to the Sinhalese.  600 acres of farmers land had been given to Kurundi vihara.  These statements were false and were intended to provoke.

However, Tamil Separatist Movement said   that the Buddhist were responsible for provoking the situation. The first provocation, they argued, was that in 2018 a group of Buddhist monks visited the site claiming it was the location of an ancient Buddhist shrine. Their actions were backed by the government’s heavily-politicized Archaeological Department, the media and the security forces stationed in the area.

Rupasinghe and Sampanther had much to say about provocation. Last week’s provocation at the site involved scores of Buddhist devotees transported in buses to the site where a group of Hindus were holding the Pongal festival at the adjacent Hindu temple, said Rupasinghe and Sampanther .Galgamuwe Santhabodhi, the so-called chief prelate of the Buddhist temple at the site, attempted to stop the Hindu event, provoking a heated argument, with violent clashes only prevented by police intervention..

On July 13, Santhabodhi issued the highly provocative claim that Tamil extremists are planning to establish a Hindu Kovil” at the site and getting ready to start a separatist struggle in this country based on Kurundi Buddhist temple, continued Rupasinghe and Sampanther.

Santhabodhi concluded by appealing to leading Buddhist monks and other forces to do something to stop this extremist attack.” His accusations are clearly aimed at whipping up the Sinhalese population against the Tamil minority. Santhabodhi’s allegations are false, concluded Rupasinghe and Sampanther.

The media joined in. Buddhist monks and devotees have started coming to the Kurundimale temple premises to hold religious rituals.  As a result, it was difficult to hold the Pongal festivalat the adjacent Hindu temple, said a news report. The fact is there was no adjacent kovil, no Pongal, the Tamil Separatist Movement simply wanted to obstruct the Buddhist function.

Tamil Separatist Movement alleges persecution. Rupasinghe and Sampanther say that Sinhala-Buddhist racists have begun an orchestrated anti-Tamil campaign in Mullaitivu. There were reports of police officers using force to prevent Hindu devotees holding religious rituals at the Sivan Iyer temple in Kurunthumalai. Subsequently, a complaint on police violence was lodged at the Sri Lanka Human Rights office in Vavuniya by journalist Wijayarathnam Saravanan.

There is no danger of an ethnic riot over Kurundi. The public are grappling with economic worries at present; they are not concerned about religion. But there was deliberate scaremongering in the media.

 Indian newspapers have published intelligence warnings that there is a strong possibility of creating communal riots and such disturbances that could easily surpass those that took place in Sri Lanka, prior to the 2019 presidential elections, in terms of severity, reported the local media.

The news report continued, tensions are running high between Buddhists and Hindus, a large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent clashes between religious devotees.  Senior local intelligence officers said that the orders had been issued to monitor political parties and activists who instigate Buddhists and Hindus to claim the ownership for the Kurundimale temple premises, the news report concluded.

The columnist Cassandra stated, that a news report of August 22 on the possibility of communal riots over   Kurundi sent warning signals down Cassandra’s spine. Kurundimale temple in Mullaitivu is a place sited on a volcano of racial tension, she said. Buddhist monks and devotees started arriving at the temple to conduct religious rituals. The monks who gathered religious fanatics and trouble makers deliberately chose the time when Pongal celebrations were taking place and these were disturbed, said Cassandra.

 Here is another example of totally misguided Buddhist enthusiasm , continued Cassandra, using the name of the Buddha and his Dhamma, overzealous monks, knowing full well what horrendous calamities could result, go headlong into rousing religious tensions. Such action should be stopped .Buddhism lives on, fired by monks who are anything but Buddhist, concluded Cassandra.

Cassandra on this occasion is clearly pro-Kovil and anti-Stupa. Her   terminology and facts can be disputed.  The Buddhist groups that came to Kurundi were not religious fanatics and troublemakers. They were Buddhist devotees. The Buddhist monks did not come to Kurundi to make trouble, either. They came to support Santhabodhi and to worship. They did not come to disturb a Pongal. There was no Pongal to disturb. The Pongal came after the Buddhist rituals had ended.

T. Saravanarajah, District Court Judge of Mullaitivu   left the country, secretly, with cases pending against him in Supreme Court. He had given questionable judgments on Kurundi, fully supporting Tamil Separatism and exceeding hits powers as Magistrate, apparently.

However, the University of Teacher’s Association University of Jaffna elevated him to the level of a hero. The UTA issued a media statement on the matter. Judges and administrators who refuse to support or connive with the Sinhala-Buddhist agenda face intimidation and come under heavy political duress, UTA said.

Judge Saravanarajah openly condemned the illegal nature of the archaeological excavation carried out in Kurunthurmalai with the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist agenda and issued rulings that are considered fair said the UTA. The Attorney General summoned Judge Saravanarajah to his office on the 21st of September 2023 exerted pressure on him to change his ruling in the Kurnthurmalai issue.

Extreme Sinhala nationalist forces in the South launched a hate campaign and issued threats against this judge who is widely perceived as a person of integrity and great courage. Mr. Sarath Weerasekara, made vituperative statements against the judge, in Parliament, continued UTA.

The University of Jaffna Teachers’ Association strongly condemns the intimidation and the hate campaign against Judge Saravanarajah and the pressure applied on him to prevent him from discharging his responsibilities in an independent manner. The Association demands that all those who are involved in the hate campaigns and the acts of interference and intimidation against the judge be held accountable, concluded the UTA of University of Jaffna.

Tamil Separatist Movement ran to the President of Sri Lanka to ask him to stop Kurundi, they also told him how this could be done. President Ranil Wickremesinghe was sympathetic to the Tamil Separatist Movement.   He had earlier supported the Ceasefire Agreement which granted control of the north and east to the LTTE .He was now prepared to support the Tamil Separatist Movement regarding Kurundi.

 President called a meeting of the Department of Archaeology officers, with the TNA members present and watching. We saw them on You Tube.TNA had briefed Ranil Wickremesinghe before hand and he   was ready with his suggestions.

He said that Kurundi could not possibly cover 400 acres and wanted the boundary stones removed. President Wickremesinghe   said he would do it himself if the     Department of Archaeology was not prepared to do so. President Ranil Wickremesinghe objected to granting 400 acres to Kurundi. But he had not objected to granting 378 acres to Tirukoneswaram   Kovil in Trincomalee in 2017.

The best way to stop Kurundi, TNA decided was to divert attention elsewhere. They looked around and settled on Mahavihara at Anuradhapura .President asked that archaeology work be started on Mahavihara immediately. The plan was to conduct excavations around the Mahaviharaya and prioritize the reopening of the Mahavihara University. . The government would seek the assistance of Professor Robin Cunningham, known for his excavation work at the Lumbini Maya Devi Temple in Nepal.

A video of this meeting carrying President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s startling announcements went viral on social media.[1]  Sinhala media also commented on this meeting. They observed that a video of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s meeting with Archaeology Department with TNA present, was circulating on social media. Commentators said they viewed the Presidents intervention with contempt (Pilikula” he was repeating what he was told to say by the TNA kalin kathagaragath paridi” they said.   

Commentators dismissed the comparison between Mahavihara and Kurundi. Mahavihara is a vihara in a city, so it cannot be very large; Kurundi ruins on the other hand are part of a monastic complex so it has to be large. Mahavihara has been excavated and finished. Kurundi excavation is still in progress. The boundary has to be decided according to archaeological evidence, commentators said.

 Ranil Wickremesinghe has believed the TNA statement that Tamils have been cultivating Kurundi lands for centuries. This is patta pal boru, said the Sinhala critics.  They   also dismissed the suggestion that Department of Archaeology must get Cabinet approval before it gazettes anything. We say to the D/Archaeology you must follow the Antiquities Ordinance, not   take order from the Cabinet or the President, said the Sinhala critics in Sinhala idiom.

The Presdient is supporting the annihilation of the Sinhala-Buddhist heritage in the north and east. He is trying to frighten those who are trying to preserve the Sinhala-Buddhist heritage.  We say to the President, you do not have a mandate from the people to do this, no janavarama, concluded the Sinhala critics.

Tamil Separatist Movement has tried to internationalize the Kurundi matter.  YARL TV – Official said on July 22nd 2023 we expect the international community to move in this. We need international intervention.

TNA appears to have contacted India. Vidura Wickramanayake stopped the excavation at Kurundi saying that we must not anger India. If we do, then India will intervene.

Tamil Nadu BJP president K AnnamalaiIn spoke at a chamber in the House of Lords in June 2023. The event was organized by Britain Tamil Sangam and Sangamam UK. He said that the emergence of Buddhist archaeological sites in the north and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka has caused tensions between Tamils and Buddhists.

 The northern and eastern provinces have maintained a unique culture and identity for more than a thousand years, said Annamalai.   However, the recent appearance of Buddhist archaeological sites in these areas has resulted in tension between Tamils and Buddhists.

Annamalai also highlighted the alarming decrease in the Hindu population in Sri Lanka’s north and eastern provinces. The significant decline in the Hindu population in the north and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka is an area of concern. This trend is worrisome as it will have a detrimental impact on the region’s culture in the years to come,” concluded Annamalai.

The Tamil Separatist Movement addressed The Federation of Saiva (Hindu) Temples U.K on January 27, 2021.  The press release issued said Tamils must unite to fight against the dictatorial government bent on seizing Hindu Temples to build Buddhist Viharas. The Sri Lankan government has declared a religious war against Tamil Hindus.

Ex-NPC member T. Raviharan of TNA greets HC Walsh

Derana news of  20. 7 23  said that the High Commissioner  for Canada, H.C. Walsh had gone to  Mullaitivu  and met  T Raviharan, who is opposing Kurundi. Sarath Weerasekera claimed that the Canadian HC’s recent visit to the Northern Province was intended to further divide the communities. He was critical of this Canadian interference in the continuing dispute over the Kurundi temple.”  Canadian embassy said in reply that Meeting people in different parts of the country, to better understand their priorities and perspectives, is a normal part of a High Commissioner’s role.” ( continued)

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[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9oqCYMAzlc  or, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8yHN0EcAhk