In the bat tle to reclaim lands in North PARL throws its weight behind Thaiyiddy residents

Ayyathurai Ravindran (Centre) one of the grieved parties speaking about losing his ancestral land in Jaffna at the media briefing held with regard to the illegal acquisition of ancestral lands of Jaffna Tamils, at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo on March 20 

Pix by Pradeep Pathirana

By Manjula D.Phillips

Affected residents maintain that these lands were illegally acquired for the construction of a Buddhist temple, which has been named ‘Tissa Viharaya’

These residents have demanded the removal of illegal constructions associated with the temple and return their lands

The residents of Thaiyiddy, Jaffna, have been raising their voices and objections in a continuing struggle against the illegal acquisition of their ancestral lands, which are now being used for the construction of a Buddhist temple. Details about this community’s struggle was revealed to the media at a press conference held jointly by the People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) and the residents of Thaiyiddy. The media briefing was held at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo, yesterday (March 20).  

“Our sole aim of conducting this briefing is to bring this issue to the notice of the people of the South. A large number of ancestral lands of Tamil people in the North are still captured by the Sri Lankan Military forces and some are under government institutions and ministries,” Priyankara Costa of PARL told media representatives. During the conference, they explained how these lands, which they once had lived on, had been used for agriculture purposes for generations. They maintained that these lands were illegally acquired for the construction of a Buddhist temple which has been named ‘Tissa Viharaya’.   

“They have been continuously raising their objections about the building of this Buddhist temple on their ancestral lands, for which they have legal deeds. People building the temple have done so when the nearby property belonging to the Thissa Viharaya remains vacant,” PARL noted in a press release issued to media representative at the briefing.   

These residents have demanded the removal of illegal constructions associated with the temple and return their lands, which were once theirs. Over the years, these helpless landowners have carried out their protest in various forms which include protests campaigns near the temple on every Poya day, meetings with the Northern Provincial Governor and writing appeals to the higher authorities. However none of these has been successful,” PARL noted.   

“Several Governments, including the present regime, have assured us that they would take necessary action to release these lands back to us. But so far no actions have been taken. We opine that the recognition granted to Buddhism through our constitution is the main reason for the delay in taking necessary actions regarding this matter. These are our ancestral lands and even the monk in the temple has accepted that these lands belongs to us. But he does not admit it in public. Our struggle regarding the issue is not against the Sinhalese people or Buddhism, but only to regain our land rights. So we are appealing to the people of the South not to misinterpret our demand for our rights as a racist issue,” Sukumari Saruja representing the affected community stated during the media briefing.   

The PARL in a statement noted that the National People’s Power (NPP) has stated that it recognises the rights of the people of the North to their lands. Hence residents of Thaiyiddy, the affected community along with PARL earnestly request from the present regime to conduct a proper investigation regarding the issue, the statement added.   

“Furthermore residents request justice for the forcible acquisition of lands throughout the past years from the people of North and East in the name of constructing religious shrines and conserving archaeological sites. They are also longing that steps be taken to restore these peoples’ fair right to the land and ensure that such acts carried out by the State or through the intervention of the military do not occur in the future,” the PARL reiterated.