A Buddha statue is being erected on Thalladi Main Street in Mannar.
 |
Construction work is being carried out to build the Buddha statue in front of Thalladi army camp. The soldiers were previously reported to have decorated the Main Street to celebrate the Buddhist festival of Poson.
Selvam Adaikalanathan, an MP for Vanni district, said that the sudden commencement of the construction was a means of inciting racial tensions.
 |
Mannar, like the rest of the Northern Province is virtually entirely Tamil. Arrests were made earlier this week after Tamil civilians in Mullaitivu protested against the illegal building of a Buddhist vihara on Tamil-owned land.
The Sri Lankan government was recently accused by a US think-tank of conducting a "silent war" through Sinhalisation, including by the building of Sinhala Buddhist temples in Tamil areas.
Photographs, Selvam Adaikalanathan MP
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.
