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Vanni District Member of Parliament T. Ravikaran has condemned the arrest of three Tamil farmers in Kurunthurmalai, following allegations made by Sinhala Buddhist monks that they had cultivated land within a so-called archaeological reserve.
The incident, which occurred on 10 May 2025, has heightened tensions over state-backed land appropriation in the Tamil homeland.
The farmers, who were working their ancestral farmlands at the base of Kurunthur Hill, were detained by Sri Lankan police after monks claimed they were cultivating within a protected archaeological zone. Ravikaran, who visited the detained individuals at the occupying Mullaitivu police station, criticised the arrests as unjust and rooted in ethnic discrimination.
These lands have been cultivated by Tamil people for generations, Ravikaran said. “Even if the farmers unknowingly worked within a designated archaeological boundary, the proper authority to file such a complaint is the Department of Archaeology, not Buddhist monks,” he said.
Of the three farmers arrested, one was released on 11 May while two others were remanded into custody. The MP noted that the land in question has been consistently cultivated—including during the previous year—highlighting that the farmers were merely continuing a long-standing tradition.
Ravikaran accused the Department of Archaeology of overreach, stating that officials had illegally demarcated the area as a “protected zone” by installing boundary stones without proper consultation or historical justification.
The incident at Kurunthurmalai comes amid ongoing concerns over Sinhala Buddhist encroachment and the misuse of archaeology to seize Tamil lands. Buddhist monks, often accompanied by military personnel and state officials, have increasingly asserted control over historically Tamil sites under the guise of archaeological preservation - a practice widely condemned by Tamil civil society.
Ravikaran further denounced the monks’ role in the arrests as ethnically provocative, warning that their actions risk fuelling further ethnic discord.
