The University of Jaffna's Teacher's Association has described last week's violence and arrests at Vedukkunaari Athi Sivan temple in Vavuniya as the "latest manifestations of the violence of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism" as efforts to colonise the traditionally Tamil temple continue.
Last Friday, as Tamils gathered at the temple to observe Shivarathri, Sri Lankan police aggressively disrupted the religious ceremony and arrested eight Tamil devotees.
Responding to the incident, the association has issued a statement condemning the violence and highlighting that this incident forms part of Sri Lanka's attempts to colonise the North-East. In their statement, they stated that actions of the Sri Lankan police "constitute a serious violation of the religious rights and freedoms of the minorities in Sri Lanka."
The temple which sits atop the Vedukkunaari mountain has been a place of worship for Tamil people for generations. However, Sri Lanka's archaeology department has declared as an ancient Buddhist site, amidst efforts by the state to increasingly carry out ‘Sinhalisation’ of traditionally Tamil sites in recent years.
Efforts to colonise Tamil sites and areas have been aided by Sri Lanka's military and archaeology department, who have frequently accompanied Buddhist monks.
The association stated that efforts by the state to colonise the North-East "aim to weaken the Tamil and Muslim communities in the region politically, economically and culturally."
"The arrest and excesses that happened on the Shivarathri night should be seen as an instance of the weaponisation of archaeology to establish Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony over the other communities" in the North-East.
"The Association firmly believes that it is only by dismantling the communalist and ethnocratic character of the state and its constitution that the people that inhabit this island can live as equal citizens without having to face religious or ethnic exclusion," the statement went on to add.
Protests have taken place in Jaffna and Batticaloa to condemn the violence and echo calls for those arrested to be released immediately. Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) leader Sivagnanam Shritharan wrote to president Ranil Wickremesinghe urging him to release the eight Tamils.
Read the full statement here.
