Muslim Invasion in the East of Sri Lanka &Destruction of Buddhist Sites

By Darmitha-Kotte

Wesak Buddha Jayanthi 2550-2551 is naturally a good time to show one's respect to Buddhists-with the view of winning them over, for other hidden agendas. This is what Minister of Housing Mrs.Ferial Ashroff had in mind, when she took the lead to organize "Buddhist Bakthi Gee" for the 2551 Buddha Jayanthi together with the Minister in Charge-UDA Mr.Dinesh Gunawardane as well as other ministries which are crucial to her ministry and her hidden agendas. Invaders come in many disguises and with many "carrots" which can be thrown to win over objectors! Otherwise, why would a Muslim Minister take special interest in a Buddhist religious event (just like the Catholic Priests for their agendas), and go to the extent of spearheading the "Buddhist Bakthi Gee" programme for Wesak utilizing funding from a German Tsunami Relief Organisation(not Saudi Arabian this time)? Her late husband Mr.M.H.M.Ashroff who died an untimely death in 2002, went to the extent of writing a poem in which he professes that he had a dream in which he had a conversation with The Lord Buddha! The major part of the poem is the so called conversation he had-which is an utter insult to Buddhists in this country. Let us understand that this is the length to which Muslim politicians will go to insult Buddhists in this country and then turn around and call us names!

The list of Buddhist archeological sites in the East:

Ampare District :
1.Rajagala 2.Deegavapi 3.Pulukunawe 4.Samangala 5.Kota Vehera 6.Magul Maha Viharaya 7.Lahugala
8.Kudumbigala 9.Neelagiriseya 10.Potuvil-Muhudu Maha Viharaya 11.Kadurugoda 12.Shastravele Viharaya 13.Gonagolla 14.Mullikulammalei 15.Kanjikumbi Aru 16.Malayad Kande 17.Lahugala Kota Vehera 18.Pallan Oya 19.Veherapudama 20.Koknagala Settlement 21.Buddangala 22.Muwang Gala
23.Ganegama Viharaya 24.Bakki Ella 25.Kivulegama 26.Vachinna 27.Pahangoda Viharaya
28.Paranagama-Bakki Ella

Batticaloa District:
1.Nelugala 2.Pottuvil 3.Ettam 4.Jayarampola 5.Rangama 6.Sangakande 7.Kirimuttipala Viharaya 8.Kota Vehera 9.Kiralagala 10.Rottey Viharaya 11.Lanka Viharaya 12.Kinnera Gala 13.Hulanuge 14.Bambaragasthalawe 15. Thaanthon Iswaran Kovil(Kokkadamcholai) was originally a Buddhist Viharaya 16.Kopawila 17.Mangala Oya(Maha Oya)(Mawad Brahmarigramam) 18.Koralepattu-Punahi Kavudagala(near Damachiya Madukulam) 19.Pullumalai (oat 29th mile post on Maha Oya-Ampare Road about 4 miles into the jungle) 20. Akarane( the Wakaneri Section) 21. Barand Cap/Brand Cap(?) 22.Karawakukulam 23.Dambaliyaddegala 24.Maadadde 25.Niyankallukulam 26.Kirimeti Aru 27.Padennathuthumale

Trincomalee District have not been included here since the situation there is involving Tamil terrorists and this article is more about the Muslim agenda rather than the LTTE aggression in attempting to destroy Buddhist heritage in the region.

The one UNP Sinhala politician who spent his time and energy to document the destruction in the North and East of Buddhist archeological sites, was the late Mr. Cyril Mathew and our gratitude must be recorded even at this late stage for having gone through all the old hanzard copies, the reports of The Sansoni Commission, various regional offices to collect data and document it and also bring up the subject for discussion during parliamentary sessions during 1977-1985/6. His brave efforts made other UNP as well as Opposition Sinhala politicians feel uncomfortable but had he not published his valuable " Sinhaluni Budu Sasuna Beraganew" much of this information would have been lost to us forever. When he commenced this work, it was naturally to defuse the LTTE claim that the North and East were areas for the mythical "Tamil Homeland" but in that process, we also see how the Muslims have been systematically encroaching into Buddhist archeological sites and destroying them to establish what Muslims consider to be their own identity in the Eastern region.

Background to The Muslim Agenda:

For nearly thirty years, Sri Lanka has been in the throes of a terrorist war with the LTTE and the damage to human life, property, democratic governance and freedom to move in the North and East have all suffered and the entire country has suffered severe economic losses. Innocent Tamil children have been abducted and inducted into the bloody mindset of terrorism and transformed into Child Brigade members causing extreme anxiety to their parents who wish for a peaceful life. While ordinary Tamils are free to travel to any part of Sri Lanka without hindrance and live and work among the majority Sinhalese as well as minority Muslims, the same cannot be said if these communities wished to travel up North or East to conduct businesses and live in those areas-they will be annihilated by LTTE terrorism. This is threat no.1 to normal civil life in Sri Lanka.

During the last 12 years under President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the commencement of negotiations conducted by the UNP regime of Ranil Wickramasinghe(2001-2003) and the CFA agreement, another phenomenon which was dormant, surfaced and began to lay claims for equal treatment and demands-that is the Muslim factor in Sri Lanka. Their hidden agenda has been, if the North is being given to the LTTE for a Tamil Homeland, then the East must be the Homeland of Muslims in this country! With both these factors, there has never been any suggestion to the effect that if they get their demand, that all their people living in all other parts of the country will move lock-stock and barrel to the designated areas and vacate the other areas! This new phenomena is threat no. 2 to normal civil life in Sri Lanka and it may very well turn out to be far more serious and complex than threat no.1.

The first spark of establishing the Muslim factor was instigated by President Muhammar Gaddafi when he visited Sri Lanka in 1976 to participate in the Non-Aligned Conference headed by our then Prime Minister the late Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike. It is reported that he summoned Muslim representatives from Sri Lanka and held discussions about establishing their presence for which he had promised funding and said "the next time I come here, Muslims must be in the majority". In order to accomplish the Muslim factor, through a matter of thirty years there has been a systematic plan to establish the Muslim identity through various methods: Madrasa schools where Islamic fundamentalism is taught to Muslim children, Muslim dress codes, increased number of Muslim Mosques mushrooming at every street corner, purchase of prime land by Muslims to establish businesses in all major towns in the country, purchase and blocking out vast extents of land for distribution among Muslims with funding from Middle Eastern countries to establish Muslim settlements etc plus a campaign at converting Tamils and Sinhalese to Islam.

The Tsunami of 26th December 2004 gave the much needed excuse for Mrs.Ashroff to commence her aggressive agenda to implement her late husband's aspirations of converting this region into a Muslim Settlement area while pushing out Sinhala villagers who have lived in the region for as long as we remember.

Specific Region Envisaged By Muslim Politicians for Immediate Encroachment:

The aim of Muslim politicians is to establish in the Ampare/Batticalao region, a so called " Muslim Sacred Area"( or Muslim Domain) from as far south on the eastern coastal belt from Panama-Pottuvil (which includes Muhudu Maha Vihara) up north towards Akkaraipattu' Deegavapi 'Oluvil(Olu Vila) 'Nintavur 'Samanthurai ' Dadayanthalawa ' Kalmunai 'Kattankudi and then expand inland systematically and push out any Sinhalese/Buddhists from that area.

In the Kattankudy area which is reported to be a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism which is 4km from Batticalao it is reported that for 50,000 inhabitants there are 65 Muslim Mosques already constructed. In the Samanthurai area(for which a distorted history of Muslim presence for 500 years in the area has been compiled during Chandrika Kumaratunga's Presidency-)a quota of 35 Muslim Mosques has been drawn up if they succeed to get this demarcated as a "Muslim Sacred Area." It has already gone through UDA relevant departments and awaiting the "opportune moment" to be pushed through for approval by the President.

In the Deegavapi Sacred Buddhist site, the late Mr.Ashroff managed to woo the Nayake Thero of the Deegavapi Temple and silence him while Mr. Ashroff went ahead with bulldozing the area for a so called roadway through the Buddhist site. It is an absolute insult, that within the Deegavapi Temple area, Chandrika Kumaratunga took great pleasure in permitting the Ashroff Memorial Hall and even participated personally in inaugurating this Hall with much pomp and pageantry! Now Mr.Ashroff's wife Mrs.Ferial Ashroff who happens to be the Minister of Housing( it is like the Sinhala saying "Nariyate Kukullu Baradunna Wagey") is taking great pride in carrying out her late husband's agenda of converting once Buddhist areas into Muslim settlements. Her ruse now, is "Tsunami Housing Project" utilizing Saudi Arabian funding to construct 300-500 houses to settle Muslims in the area. Why Deegavapi and the precincts instead of an area closer to where the Tsunami displaced Muslim residents is a good question to ask Mrs Ashroff? The ulterior motives of this agenda is too naked and blaring in our faces! Mrs. Ashroff must not forget that her husband met with an untimely death due to his arrogant agenda of destroying Buddhist archeological sites for Muslim expansion in the East.

Conclusion:

Let it be on record that Sinhala Buddhists have no animosity against any Tsunami victims being resettled and housed with Saudi Arabian funding for Tsunami Relief Housing programmes. But in this region it should be also recorded that victims included Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims together. Saudi Arabian authorities must also ensure, that their funding will not in any way hurt the sentiments of Buddhists in this country be they Tamils or Sinhalese since Buddhists are the majority of this country whether we like it or not.

This tiny island called "Sri Lanka" has been the home of Sinhalese,Tamils,Muslims,Burghers,Malays which comprises of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian including Catholic as well as Islamic adherents. Through history, we have seen how harmoniously all communities have lived as long as one has not over-stepped the acceptable and decent boundaries of "co-existence" which is a much talked about terminology in the modern day of NGOs and INGOs. What we witness today, is the scheming plots and plans of both the Islamic and Catholic/Christian adherents against Buddhists and the Sinhalese in this country with a view of undermining the majority. Just as much as they wish to establish their identity, do the Sinhalese or Sinhala Buddhists have a right to wish to protect and preserve the already established identity which is rightfully ours? What is the difference between Muslim or Christian chauvanism as against Sinhala chauvanism?

Merely because a Foreign Government, King, Church or Mosque donates funding for Tsunami relief, we Sri Lankans do not need to destroy our national identity by naming these projects or locations after the names of the foreign donors(example "King Abdulla City")-eventually there will be nothing left called "Sri Lanka!" Is this what Sri Lankans wants in all honesty if we are to remain as one country with our own identity? Go around the country and see the names that have come up after the Tsunami- it is truly sad to witness boards at street corners with various foreign names-this is truly an exhibition of our own inferiority complex as a nation!

Why is it, that both Christian and Islamic adherents wish to hurt the sentiments of Buddhists in this country? Is it very difficult for them to be sensitive to the feelings of Buddhists and our heritage? Is it difficult for them to honour and treasure our history and our heritage? Is it difficult for them to make a concerted effort, to ensure that harmony is maintained through their own efforts because, the Sinhalese or Buddhists have never hurt willfully, the religious or ethnic feelings of others-unless, they have taken the initiative to hurt ours! Was Serendipity, Ceylan and later Ceylon originally the land of Christians or Muslims or was it Buddhist before their arrival? It is certainly not difficult to live in harmony provided all parties involved want to live without hurting others or overstepping accepted norms.

Finally, let us understand that there is a "concurrent conspiracy" both by the Christian Churches as well as the Islamic world, to convert all countries in this region which are either non-Christian or non-Islamic into their faiths- in this conspiracy, Buddhists are caught up and sandwiched! Just like the late Cyril Mathew cried out aloud " Sinhalani Budu Sasuna Beraganew!" so must the Buddhists wake upto the realities around us-let us not be naïve and accommodating to the extent that we will be bulldozed just like the late Mr. M.H.M.Ashroff literarily bulldozed the Deegavapi Sacred Area!