The occupying Sri Lankan police force has arrested two Tamil youths from Jaffna after reportedly taking photographs in the vicinity of the controversial Thaiyiddy Vihara, a Buddhist shrine at the centre of a long-running dispute over the colonisation of Tamil land in the Valikamam North region.
The arrests were carried out by officers attached to the occupying Palaly Police Station during special Vesak observances held at the vihara on Friday.
According to reports, special religious activities were taking place at the site as part of Vesak celebrations. At the same time, Tamil landowners were conducting a protest nearby, continuing their campaign for the return of lands on which the vihara has been constructed, as well as surrounding privately-owned properties.
The two youths, both from the Vadamarachchi area, had reportedly stated that they were visiting the vihara before entering the premises.
Police later questioned the pair after observing them moving around the site and taking photographs. Authorities claimed the youths had behaved in a suspicious manner and subsequently provided contradictory information during questioning.
They were later arrested and taken into custody.
The two individuals are currently being detained at the Palaly Police Station whilst investigations continue.
The arrests come against the backdrop of a years-long dispute surrounding the Thaiyiddy Vihara, which has become a symbol of wider concerns over land colonisation, Sinhalisation and Buddhisisation in the Tamil homeland.
The Buddhist shrine was constructed on land that local residents and landowners maintain belongs to Tamil civilians who were displaced during decades of military occupation in the High Security Zone surrounding Palaly. Despite repeated objections from landowners and Tamil political representatives, the vihara has continued to expand.
In recent years, local residents, civil society groups and Tamil political parties have repeatedly protested the presence of the shrine, arguing that it was established without the consent of landowners and serves as part of a broader effort to alter the demographic and cultural character of the region.
Landowners have continued to stage demonstrations on every full moon day, demanding the return of their lands and calling for the removal of structures they describe as illegally constructed on private property.
The latest protest was held over two days, on 29 and 30 May, with demonstrators reiterating demands that the lands occupied by the vihara be returned to their rightful owners.
Rights advocates and Tamil civil society organisations have repeatedly raised concerns over the heavy surveillance and policing of activities in the North-East, particularly around sites connected to land disputes, memorialisation and opposition to Buddhist encroachment in the Tamil homeland.