Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

BBS alleges Sinhalese being ‘chased away’ from North-East

Sinhala Buddhist organisation Bodu Bala Sena alleged that a plan was underway to “chase Sinhalese people away” from the Tamil North-East, as part of a set of proposals by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

“The initiative was launched from March 4. The Northern Provincial Council and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is backing this move to chase Sinhalese people away and preventing the resettlement of them,” claimed BBS chief Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, whi was arrested last month for hate speech against Muslims on the island.

“There is an ongoing process of resettling Tamils in lands which were taken from the Sinhalese people forcibly. The TNA had forcibly stopped building houses in Kokilai Sinhala fishing village. Kokilai, Sampath Nuwara and Weli Oya are ancient lands of the Sinhalese,” he added.

The Buddhist monk went on to claim that no support was given to develop Sinhalese “Education Zones” in the North-East and called on the government to take immediate action.

“We ask President Maithripala Sirisena why the Government couldn’t take any action against the TNA and other Tamil organisations,” he said. “Do only Sinhalese have to be law abiding citizen of this country?”

His comments come just days after the Sri Lankan military donated land to "needy, serving personnel" and as Tamil protests continue across the North-East calling for the return of land currently being occupied by the military.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.