Weaponization of Buddhism for Tamil Cultural Genocide: TGTE

Requests Indian Government to assure that any funds provided to Sri Lanka for strengthening of Buddhism, should not be used for weakening Hinduism

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, March 21, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On March 8 th , Sri Lankan police unleashed violence on Tamil devotees at Veddukkunaari Hindu Temple 1 in Vavuniya District on Mahasivarathiri Day, an especially holy day for Hindus. The North-East where the temple is located is the traditional homeland of the Tamils, who are Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

The Sri Lankan police arrested 8 individuals and held them in custody without bail under the Antiquities Ordinance. Veddukunaari Hindu Temple has been a place of worship by the Tamil devotees for generations.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/19/sri-lankan-authorities-detain-hindu-worshippers

The Sri Lankan state’s calculated action blatantly violated the Hindus’ right to worship – a fundamental right.

Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, The Prime Miniter of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) stated, “The TGTE denounces the arrest of the devotees. We strongly request the Indian Government to assure that any funds provided to Sri Lanka for the strengthening of Buddhism not be used for the weakening of Hinduism and other religions”.

After the war, the Sri Lankan state has embarked on the destruction of the Tamil identity under the guise of preserving archeological heritage. The Antiquities Ordinance empowers the minister in charge of Archaeology to proclaim any site an archaeological site without any historic, social, and scientific inquiry. It is learnt that the Sinhala Buddhist establishment intends to designate nearly 1,500 sites in the NorthEastern part of Sri Lanka, the traditional Tamil homeland, as “Buddhist sites”. We recall that the notorious Sinhala chauvinist Minister Cyril Mathew was planning to identify nearly 2,000 such sites in the Tamil homeland in the 1970s.

The Sinhala Buddhist establishment is weaponizing the “Buddhist sites” to colonize the Tamil areas and destroy the Tamil heritage, the Tamil identity-cultural genocide. Identification of a “Buddhist site”, appointment of a Sinhala monk as a custodian; deployment of the Sinhala Army to protect the site, followed by Sinhala peasants settling down is the playbook of the Sri Lankan state. This playbook was recently followed in Kurunthamalee in Mullaitivu District.

The Indian government donated US$15 million to Sri Lanka to promote Buddhism in November 2023. We call upon the Indian government to ensure that its donation is not used to “identify” or “revive” the “Buddhist sites” in the Tamil homeland, which was recognized as such in the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. Prevention of the Sinhalasation of the NorthEastern part of Sri Lanka is not only an ethical imperative, but also a national security imperative for India.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/india-allocates-usd-15-mn-grant-to-sri-lanka-to-bolster-long-standing-buddhist-connections/amp_articleshow/104944465.cms

* ABOUT THE TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE):

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a democratically elected Government of over a million strong Tamils (from the island of Sri Lanka) living in several countries around the world.

TGTE was formed after the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009.

TGTE thrice held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect 132 Members of Parliament. It has two chambers of Parliament: The House of Representatives and the Senate and also a Cabinet.

TGTE is leading a campaign to realize the political aspirations of Tamils through peaceful, democratic, and diplomatic means and its Constitution mandates that it should realize its political objectives only through peaceful means. It’s based on the principles of nationhood, homeland and self-determination.

TGTE seeks that the international community hold the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Tamil people to account. TGTE calls for a referendum to decide the political future of Tamils.

The Prime Minister of TGTE is Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a New York based lawyer.

Email: pmo@tgte.org
Twitter: @TGTE_PMO
Web: www.tgte-us.org

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
+1 614-202-3377
r.thave@tgte.org
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