• Claims construction of places of worship continuing with Army, Buddhist clergy involvement

While President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Department of Archeology to stop new acquisitions of lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and the construction of Buddhist shrines in those areas, the Department is yet to take a final decision on the matter while other parties allegedly continue with such activities together with the Army and Buddhist monks, The Daily Morning learns.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani Leader and Jaffna District Parliamentarian C.V. Wigneswaran said that the President, during the discussions that he had with the MPs representing the Tamil community, had instructed the Department to stop taking over both private and State lands anew and to halt putting up places of worship. "The Director General of the Archeology Department, Prof. Anura Manatunga was there. The President told him to stop taking over lands and to halt putting up Buddhist places of worship."

Claiming that the said direction seems to have been taken into account by the relevant authorities, he said that the relevant gazette notification however is yet to be issued. "This direction needs to be gazetted for it to become a law, but the President has taken an important measure. He took the decision after having discussions with the relevant officials. He had also called for a report on the matter from the Department," said Wigneswaran.

Although the Department has been directed to stop acquiring lands and building places of worship, he charged that various other parties are however carrying out such activities with the help of the Army and the Buddhist clergy. "There are those who still continue to do that with the help of the Army and the Buddhist clergy. They have already built such places. For now, only the Department has been stopped from doing so."

However, Prof. Manatunga, when contacted by The Daily Morning, said that the Department is yet to reach a final decision on the matter. "This matter was discussed during the meeting with the President, but we did not reach an agreement nor was there a disagreement. We are still in discussions," he said.

President Wickremesinghe, who is also the Minister of National Policies, has been pledging to resolve the issues faced by the Tamil community, particularly in the North and the East, and the estate sector workers. The frequent issues that they face include the occupation of their lands by the military forces and State Departments and the non-implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He had recently issued an order to release the lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces that have been acquired by the Department of Forest Conservation beyond the relevant limits demarcated in the relevant maps prepared in 1985.