By Shamindra Ferdinando

Alleging that attempts were being made to evict people from the Divulpothana village in the Batticaloa District, Ven. Ampitiye Sumanaratne thera, Chief Incumbent of Mangalaramaya, Batticaloa, has called for the immediate intervention of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to protect the rights of the victims.

In a four-page letter dated Oct. 23, 2023 handed over to the HRC on Monday, Ven. Sumanaratne Thera has claimed that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government has allowed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to intimidate the people living in Divulpothana and adjoining villages following an understanding the grouping reached with the incumbent administration regarding its support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the next presidential election.

The thera has alleged that relevant Mahaweli authorities and police at the behest of political leadership fully cooperated with the TNA and others interested in forcing the Sinhala families out of the Eastern Province.

The monk named TNA Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) as the two main politicians involved in the sordid operation.

Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, convenor of the Federation of National Organizations told The Island that the situation was bad, and the law enforcement authorities had prevented Ven. Sumanaratne thera from entering his own temple.

Dr. Amarasekera said that nearly 15 years after the eradication of separatist terrorism brazen attempts were being made to force Sinhalese out of their villages. Referring to the simmering issue over Kurundi temple, Dr. Amarasekera insisted that intimidation of Divulpothana villagers was not an isolated development. “It was all part of a sinister strategy,” he said.

In his letter to the HRC, Ven. Sumanaratne Thera has highlighted what he calls a systematic campaign to deprive the Sinhala community of basic rights afforded to other communities.

Insisting that Divulpothana area has been inhabited by Sinhalese for a long time and there are 86 archaeological sites, the Ven. Thera has recalled how the LTTE carried out massacres to force the Sinhalese and Muslims out of the region. The evicted people hadn’t been able to return to their land until the government brought the war against the LTTE to a successful conclusion in May 2009, the Thera said, pointing out Mangalaramaya temple had intervened on their behalf and built 25 houses and a temple and facilitated efforts to restore normalcy.

The monk has alleged that the yahapalana administration succumbed to pressure from some Tamil and Muslim politicians and forced the people out of their homes after 2016 and allocated the entire area for grazing. Despite repeated appeals, the yahapalana government had turned a blind eye until the change of government following the last presidential election in Nov., 2019 paved the way for the return of the displaced families to Divulpothana and adjacent areas.

Sumanaratne Thera has said that since President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, the government had succumbed to TNA pressure and was in the process of forcing the Sinhalese out of Divulpothana.

Ven. Sumanaratne has said that Mahaweli authorities moved Eravur Magistrate’s Court against a group of 13 families, alleging that they were forcibly occupying state land. The monk alleged that those who lived there regardless of immense difficulties and threats to their lives were being relentlessly harassed by state officials.

It has been claimed that land is required for grazing of around 700,000 cattle but the number of cattle was 150,000, the Thera’s petition says.

The monk has alleged that following a meeting MP Rasamanickam and EP Governor Thondaman had at the Presidential Secretariat on 15 Oct., a lie had been propagated in and outside parliament via social media that the police deployed in the Eastern Province didn’t carry out instructions issued by President Wickremesinghe.

The monk claimed that subsequently, Karadiyanaru police had prevented him from proceeding towards his own temple in Divulpothana thereby violating his rights.

The monk has alleged that a Buddha statue placed by him at Weheragodalla temple in Divulpothana had disappeared. The monk has urged the HRC to inquire into his complaint and take necessary action.