Sinhala extremists set to install 25 Buddha statues in Tamil-Muslim division of Trincomalee
[TamilNet, Saturday, 22 December 2018, 15:12 GMT] The extremist Sinhala Buddhist establishment has increased activities of genocidal land grab in Trincomalee North through the SL Archaeology Department in the recent weeks. The monks are using Sinhala paramilitary (Civil Defence Force), Army and Navy personnel in civilian clothes to put up concrete structures in the seized lands. The intruders are waging heritage genocide as they aim systematic transformation of all hill-tops, and rocky or cave-areas with traditions of folk deities, Saivist or Tamil Mahayana Buddhist Saivist traces into Sinhala Theravada Buddhist installations through placing brand new Buddha statues. Twenty-five new Buddha statues are going to be brought into Kuchchave'li in Trincomalee North, a division with predominantly Tamil-speaking people, civil officials from Pulmoaddai said on Friday.
The ‘Anuradhapura expansion’ is targeting the districts of Vavuniyaa, Mullaiththeevu and Trincomalee.
While the Tamil and the Muslim politicians were occupied with the political turmoil in the South, the extremist sections of the Sinhala Buddhist establishment from the South have started to move Buddha statues into the disputed heritage localities and hill-tops in the North-East, the sources observed.
The statues are initially transported into military bases and kept camouflaged there while basic structures are being prepared in the seized lands.
There have been reports of increase activities at Vaazhai-oottu, Thennai-maravadi and in Arisi-malai area near Pulmoaddai.
Full-scale surveying of lands has been silently carried out in the disputed Arisi-malai area in October 2018.
Out of 46 acres surveyed so far, four acres have been effectively brought under the Department of Archaeology, the sources further said.
The SL military intelligence and the Sinhala-dominated police have threatened Tamil-speaking people that they would use the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) related charges against those who protest.
A systematic pattern of increased activities are witnessed in Arisimalai, Chempi-malai, Chalappai including accelerated construction of Buddhist monuments at the hill-top near the 64th Mile Post, the Tamil-speaking Muslim officials said.
The monks are trying to seize large tracts of lands from Arisimalai to Thiriyaay in the division of Kuchchave'li.
The Muslim officials were urging immediate action from the Tamil National Alliance and other Tamil parties.
Arisimalai is located 50 km north of Trincomalee city.
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In a video interview to TamilNet in July 2017, former Village Officer (GS) Abdul Salam narrated how the land grab in Pulmoaddai has been systematically stepped up and jointly waged by SL ministries, departments, Sinhala Army, Navy, STF commandos, Buddhist monks, ‘home guards’ paramilitary and the encroachers from bordering divisions of Trincomalee and Anurahapura since 2010. The interview is reproduced below:
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