SL governor orders removal of Tamil church in East

SL governor orders removal of Tamil church in East

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Sinhala colonial governor of the Eastern Province, Rear Admiral (retd.) Mohan Wijewickrema, has instructed officials under him to remove a Catholic church that has been constructed by the uprooted people of Naavaladi village in Moothoor division of Trincomalee district, informed civil sources in Trincomalee said. The people of Naavaladi village, uprooted in 2006, have resettled at a nearby locality to their native village as the occupying Sri Lankan military was refusing entry to their own lands has established the church for their worship at the new location, which has also been named Naavaladi. 

The order by the Sinhala governor comes at a situation when the uprooted families had made their own efforts to establish themselves, by putting up the church for their worship. 

In the meantime, another group of uprooted Tamils from the same division, who are fishermen and farmers by profession, temporarily residing at Chanthoasapuram were removed from that locality for resettlement at Cheenan-ve'li. 

However, they have not been resettled at Cheenan-ve'li as promised. 

They were initially promised 20 perches of land per family unit. 

But, a number of these families have been dumped 6 months ago at a hillside with 10 perches of land for each family.

The Tamil families complain that they are unable to resume their livelihood of fishing or farming. 

The only livelihood they could find was to collect firewood from the nearby jungle and sell it. But, that too has become a difficult task. 

Even for potable water they have to depend on the water supply by the occupying Sri Lanka Army, which wants the Tamil people to be subservient-TN

TNA MPs, EPC councilors hold protest against erection of Buddha statue in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 May 2013, 10:11 GMT]
Batticaloa district parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance and the councilors of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) and members of the public held a demonstration on Wednesday morning against the construction of the statue of Lord Buddha at the entrance to the city in front of the Batticaloa Pi'l'laiyaar Koayil. 

Protestors went in procession to Koayiladi holding placards and shouting slogans against the move to erect the Buddha statue.

They shouted slogans and carried placards stating ‚“What is the need for a Buddha statue where no Buddhist living in the city. Do not make Lord Buddha a symbol of anarchy”.

Members of the Batticaloa Pi'l'laiyaaradi Sri Pulavi Pillaiyar Koayil committee, Koththuk-ku'lam Sri Muthtumaraiamman Koayil committee and Pi'l'laiayaaradi Rural Development Society committee handed over a memorandum to the Batticaloa district TNA parliamentarian Mr.P.Selvarajah to be submitted to the Sri Lankan Government Agent of Batticaloa District.

Thereafter a delegation of TNA district parliamentarians and EPC councilors handed over the memorandum to the SL Government Agent and the ‘District Brigadier’ of the occupying Sri Lanka Army. 

Batticaloa District TNA parliamentarians Messrs P.Selkvarajah P.Ariyanethran and C.Yogeswaran and EPC councilors K.Thurairajasingham, R.Thurairatnam, Jana Karunakaran, Prasanna Indrakumar, Nadarajah and Krishnapillai Vellimalai were in the delegation that met the SLGA and the ‘District Brigadier’ of the SLA.