The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Hon. Deputy Minister, Hon. Minister of Environment, and Members, we note with attention that you now have 159 Members, whereas in the last Parliament you had three. The people have removed certain racists; however, there are still racist elements even among Sinhala representatives. We want to work with you to rebuild this country—with justice, integrity, and good governance—and we will cooperate for that.

¶ 02 Prince Siddhartha, born to Hindu parents Suddhodana and Mayadevi and married to Yasodhara, became the Buddha. Those who follow his teachings and live by the Five Precepts are Buddhists. Hinduism and Buddhism in South Asia are intertwined and co-exist harmoniously across the region—except in Sri Lanka, where some monks and their political backers have abandoned the Buddha’s teachings and the Five Precepts. With the aid of state agencies—the Mahaweli Authority, Department of Archaeology, Police, the Security Forces—some extremists have created ethnic tension, seized control, pursued majoritarian demographic changes in the North and East, and destroyed religious harmony. We can submit statistics to substantiate this.

¶ 03 I represent Vanni District; my home district is Mullaitivu. Let me place some facts. In Karaituraipattu DS Division, near Nayaru, within the old Semmalai Pillaiyar Temple premises, the monk Kolombage Methananda Keerthisiri began constructing a building claiming it to be Gurukanda Rajamaha Viharaya. Soldiers from a nearby camp undertook the construction. Case No. 31823 was filed in the Mullaitivu Magistrate’s Court, and on 06.05.2019 the Court ordered that any activities must comply with the law and maintain peace. Despite Court orders and Urban Council prohibitions, a large Buddha statue was installed there by this monk. Law and order looked away.

¶ 04 Later, this monk passed away. The Court ordered that his body be buried at the beach. Defying this, a group of monks led by Gnanasara Thera buried the body at the old Semmalai Pillaiyar Temple’s sacred pond. Tamil lawyers and the public who resisted were chased and beaten by police; the temple priest was hospitalized. This is yet another instance undermining religious harmony.

¶ 05 From Kokkilai, people displaced in 1983 were allowed to resettle in 2011. The family of Manivannathas returned to their land. His father, Thirugnanasambandhar, had a permit under the Land Development Ordinance. The family was prevented from resettling and chased away by the army. A vihara was constructed on their land in defiance of repeated court orders, and remains to this day. The Manivannathas family still cannot live on their ancestral land. Is this the path of the Buddha’s Five Precepts?

¶ 06 In the North and East, those aligned with Gnanasara Thera use Buddha statues as boundary markers for land grabs rather than as sacred images. I invite all of you to visit and see.

¶ 07 Kurundur Malai is an archaeological site. During the LTTE period, none of the archaeological monuments there were damaged. One ancient trident (trishulam), venerated by surrounding villagers for centuries with village rituals, has now been uprooted and Hindu worship has been prohibited. Is this religious harmony? We expect justice from you for such injustices.

¶ 08 When a team led by Kalukamuwe Sandhapothi Thera brought a Buddha statue to install there, locals prevented it. Police filed Case AR/673/18 in the Mullaitivu Magistrate’s Court. On 27.09.2018, the Court ordered the Department of Archaeology to recognize the area as an archaeological site and to involve lecturers and students from the University of Jaffna’s Archaeology Department in research. Although excavations continue, they do so without the Jaffna University team, defying transparency and neutrality—even under a Government that came to power promising transparency. Archaeology there has been used as a cover for opaque actions.

¶ 09 The Department of Archaeology, with Police and the Army, has undertaken actions at Kurundur that violate both Buddhist precepts and Sri Lankan law. Despite Court orders and Gazette notifications declaring Kurundur an archaeological reserve, a cement-and-stone “vihara” has been built—an emblem not of Buddhism, but of corruption. The Magistrate of Mullaitivu, Mr. Saravanaraja, who delivered related orders, resigned and left the country due to death threats. The people ask: what responsibility will the Government take? Will the seized ancient Sivalingam’s trident be returned? Will Hindus be allowed to worship there freely?

¶ 10 In Vavuniya North DS Division, Vedukunari Malai is an ancient Hindu place of worship. Last year, people who went for Maha Shivaratri were chased away by police. The hereditary priest and 14 others were remanded for weeks simply for observing Shivaratri at Vedukunari. This year too, worship after 6 p.m. was disallowed—yet Shivaratri is an all-night vigil. People feel abandoned. If Sri Lanka has four religions, as you say, then embrace all four—Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam—equally. We will support all genuine, transparent good work. But you must truly embrace the Tamil people as well.

¶ 11 In Jaffna and the Vanni you received substantial votes. If our people hated Sinhalese or Sinhala parties, would they have brought you to power? Do not sideline our people; do not deny worship in their shrines. Where there are no Buddhists, why build large viharas? Enormous viharas in army camps—why? If Buddhists are present, build appropriate facilities; otherwise, small shrines suffice. Do not act with lawlessness and racism. The previous rulers sowed hatred; you must remove it.

¶ 12 Hon. Minister, I know your disposition. I also serve on the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. Act correctly and we will fully support you. Come to our areas; I will show you, on the ground, what happened.

¶ 13 Thank you.