An injunction has been issued by the occupying Sri Lankan police in Jaffna against 27 individuals and organisations, including the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, as Tamil protests continued against the illegal construction of the Buddhist temple on privately owned Tamil land.
Amongst those named in the injunction as Tamil landowners of the site on which the Buddhist temple, known as a vihara, has been unlawfully built.
Thousands of Sinhalese devotees are expected to be brought to Jaffna today, Tuesday, to participate in full moon day religious observances at the Tissa Vihara, which remains illegally established on land in Thaiyiddy. A significant number of Sinhalese people have reportedly been brought to the temple in buses from the south of the island.
Protests, which began on Monday evening, have drawn together landowners and local representatives, who are calling for the removal of the temple and for the land and surrounding plots to be returned to their rightful owners. The demonstration is expected to continue until this evening.
Within minutes of the protest’s commencement, Sri Lankan police deployed a water cannon vehicle to the site. Riot control units have also been stationed in the area.
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Speaking at the protest, Selvarajah Kajendran, General Secretary of TNPF and former Member of Parliament, said if the Tamils are to have faith in the law, the illegal building must be removed.
"The Tamil people do not have faith in the Anura Kumara Dissanayake government,” said the former lawmaker. “The people are clear that they must fight for our rights. There is no room for sentimentalism in this.”
"The Thaiyiddy protest is not against the Sinhalese people or the Buddhists. It is against an illegal building," he continued. "The Ariyakulam Naga Temple is located in the centre of Jaffna city,” he added. “Thousands of Sinhalese people come there every month. Lakhs of people come and go. No Tamil people have objected there."
"This illegal temple has been built in Thaiyiddy to create a rift between the Tamil people and the Sinhalese people. If Tamils are to have faith in the law, that illegal building must be removed."
"The President could not respond to the Thaiyiddy issue at the Jaffna District Coordination Committee meeting [he attended]. Because the President knows that it is illegal."
"The military intelligence unit is acting in a threatening manner here,” the former MP noted.
