Temples and Sri Lankan military
Sri Lanka military has a long history of occupying precincts of temples and churches, worshipped by Tamil people, for its military purpose, without giving any consideration for the cultural sensitivities of the people who use them. The latest is the occupation of the very famous Thanthamalai Hindu temple on a hill top in Batticalao.
To accommodate the large number of pilgrims coming to this famous temple there are many inns built around its hill. Presently the Sri Lankan military is occupying all of these inns using them as military camps. A military camp has also been setup at the hill top next to the temple itself. On 8 July, the annual festival of this temple that will last for 16 days was started. In normal times this festival will attract the entire Tamil population in Batticaloa. With the temple and its inns now converted to military camps there are no buildings in which people can stay overnight to attend the festivals. The Sri Lankan military is also banning devotees going to the hill top to worship. It has said that only the temple priest can go to the hill top to conduct the rituals. In effect, the Tamils in Batticaloa have been permanently denied access to one of their most popular temples which forms part of their religious as well as cultural life. Is this not cultural genocide?
09 July 2007
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Europe which has a total population of 800 million is made up of 45 language based nation states. South Asia which has a total population of one billion, (1000 million) is comprised of four states. Who is preventing and therefore benefiting by limiting new nation-states in South Asia?
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