Sri Lanka's Buddhasasana minister Dr Hiniduma Sunil Senevi has appointed 19 Sinhala members to the island's Archaeology Advisory Committee, amidst ongoing efforts by Sri Lanka to colonise the North-East.
A gazette, issued earlier this month, states that the committee would include Buddhist monks, professors and researchers in archaeology. They will hold their positions from March 10, 2025 until March 9 2027.
Since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, the Sri Lankan state has accelerated the Sinhalisation of the North-East. The state has used the archaeology and forestry department alongside the military to alter the demographic of the Tamil homeland.
Tamil and Muslim voices are largely excluded from committees or bodies that are tasked with the protection of religious sites and lands, further marginalising them whilst their lands are appropriated.
The committee's membership has raised concerns particularly as Sri Lanka's Ministry of Buddhasasana recently inaugurated a new Buddha Sasana Council, signalling the state's deepening alignment with Sinhala-Buddhist interests.
This comes amid growing alarm over religious freedom, with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2024 recommending that Sri Lanka be placed on a special watchlist for serious violations.
Last month, Karai Thuraipattu Chairman Chinnarasa Logeswaran condemned the Archaeology Department’s takeover of Tamil lands in Mullaitivu, accusing it of unlawfully seizing farmlands in Kumulamunai, Thanni Murippu, and Kurunthurmalai. He said that despite hopes the new government would change its approach toward Tamils, it has continued the same land seizures as before.