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The US Embassy in Sri Lanka, marked the reopening of the restored Old Kandyan Kings’ Palace, funded through a $265,000 grant, even as the Sri Lankan state continued the Sinhalisation of several sites across the Tamil North-East.
US Ambassador Julie Chung lauded the restoration as a “testament to the power of partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka”. The restored palace, is located within the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic complex, an important site for Sinhala Buddhists.
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This restoration project one of 17 US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) projects in Sri Lanka. The majority of the projects focus on Sinhala Buddhist heritage, including the Rajagala Buddhist forest monastery and the Anuradhapura Archaeological Museum.
Tamil cultural and historical sites, however, remain underfunded and at risk of destruction. The Department of Archaeology, which partnered with the US Embassy for this restoration, has frequently been accused of erasing Tamil historical markers to assert Sinhala Buddhist hegemony in the region. In many cases, ancient Tamil temples and landmarks have been either co-opted as Sinhala Buddhist sites or obliterated altogether.
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