The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Central Cultural Fund, announced the launch of a new conservation project to protect the ancient Thuparama Image House, a Sinhala Buddhist site within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Polonnaruwa Ancient City.
This initiative is funded by a US$109,000 grant (over Rs. 32 million) from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), a program that has primarily supported the preservation of Sinhala Buddhist heritage sites across the island.
U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung, speaking at the launch, hailed the project as a symbol of partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka. “The United States and Sri Lanka share a long history of partnership built on mutual respect and shared values," she stated. "Through initiatives like the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, we continue to help Sri Lanka protect its heritage, promote sustainable tourism, and attract global visitors to explore its historical and cultural richness.”
The Thuparama Image House was constructed in the 12th century during the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.
The announcement of the project sparked a backlash from the Tamil Americans United PAC, which called it "an outrage that U.S. taxpayer money is being used to fund cultural preservation projects like the Thuparama Image House".
"This misuse of American resources must stop immediately."
This is not the first time that the ambassador has funded a conservation project of this nature. In December last year, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, marked the reopening of the restored Old Kandyan Kings’ Palace, funded through a US$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.
This restoration project is 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.