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Earlier this week, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP R. Shanakiyan and Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP M. A. Sumanthiran met with residents of Thiriyai, Trincomalee, to discuss their concerns about the land that has been taken by the Girihandu Seya Viharaya, a Buddhist temple in the area.
The chief Sinhala Buddhist monk of the temple claims that in 2010, approximately 3,600 acres of land surrounding the temple were legally demarcated for its use. However, under the previous Yahapalanaya government, the area was reduced to just 257 acres. Recently, the chief monk has been lobbying government officials to restore the demarcation to the original 3,600 acres.
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According to residents of Thiriyai, the Divisional Secretariat of Kuchchaveli received a letter from the Presidential Secretariat to allocate 3,600 acres as requested by the chief monk.
Residents fear that their farmlands will fall within the 3,600 acres, and they will lose not only their livelihoods but also their homes. The chief monk has a history of occupying lands belonging to Tamil farmers near the Paravi Paanchaan tank and cultivating paddy on them. The Archeological department has also prevented Tamil farmers in the Aathikadu area and the Paavalan and Neeravi mangrove forests from cultivating their lands for the past three years. These practices have emboldened the chief monk of Girihandu Seya temple.
The villagers believe that the chief monk's land-grabbing practices are in line with his past actions and fear that they will be displaced from their lands if the 3,600-acre allocation is granted. They are calling for the government to intervene and protect their rights. If the issue is not resolved, they warn that they will begin a mass movement to protest the ongoing land grabbing by the temple.The plight of Thiriyai villagers highlights the ongoing issues of land disputes and Sinhala colonisation of traditionally Tamil land in the North-East.