Sri Lankan police hesitate to uphold President’s order by failing to keep Sinhalese Buddhist encroachers away from Tamil livestock farmers’ land in Batticaloa. The order was made after a new Buddhist statute was erected under the leadership of notorious Buddhist monk Ampittiya Sumanarathna Thero, in the Mayilathamadu Madhavanai area of Batticaloa.
In a video tweeted on X on Saturday, Ampittiya Sumanarathna Thero is seen rebelling against and violently resisting a police officer attempting to stop the monk:
What would have been the reaction of this police officer if he had been a Tamil or a Muslim religious leader?#Mylathamadu
V News pic.twitter.com/GzCgkC8qoL— kumanan(@kumanan93) October 20, 2023
The double standards applied by the Sri Lankan police was criticised by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, when earlier this month, Sri Lankan police officers used brutal force on peaceful Tamil protesters who were calling for an end to the ongoing land grabs by Sinhalese settlers in the said area in Batticaloa.
Last week, Ranil Wickremesinghe held a meeting with ministers, including Rasamanickam, to resolve the matter following several days of Tamil farmers and Tamil MPs having protested against the illegal settlement in the Mayilathamadu Madhavanai area. In that meeting, the President had instructed the police to obtain a court order to remove encroachers. Despite the order, Sinhalese settlement continues and cattle belonging to the Tamil farmers continue to be killed by the illegal settlers.
Tamil farmers and politicians, including Tamil People’s National Front (TNPF) spokesperson lawyer, Kanagaratnam Sugash, continue to protest the ongoing land grabs in the area.
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