Claim: The new government of Sri Lanka incited Tamil groups to protest in front of the Buddhist temple Tissa Rajamaha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai on November 15.
Fact: This claim is misleading. This incident is part of protests that have been ongoing since 2023 and have no connection to the new government.
Several social media users are posting video footage showing a group of people protesting against the military, alleging that the new government has instigated protests outside the Tissa Rajamaha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai by ethnic Tamil groups in Northern Sri Lanka and Colombo.
Sharing the video footage, a TikTok user by the handle @abeetha_0325 said, “Revival (Punarudaya––slogan associated with the NPP/JVP) begins in two days! Our military heroes are getting labelled murderers. Demands that the Buddhist Temple in Kankasanthurai be removed.”
Posts of a similar nature can be found here and here.
Due to the sensitivity of this incident against the backdrop of the new NPP-led government being sworn in with a majority of votes from areas in the North, Newschecker team decided to look at the veracity of this claim.
Fact Check/Verification
Through keyword searches, the Newschecker team found that there had in fact been a protest in front of the Tissa Rajamaha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai on November 15 by members of the ethnic Tamil community. The Tamil Guardian reported that a group of people protested against the military for holding a pooja at the vihara, alleging that the land on which the temple stands belonged to 14 Tamil families, and had been “illegally occupied by the Sri Lankan army.” The full article can be found here.
However, we found that these specific protests were not new or isolated. A research paper conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Sri Lanka titled The Intersectional Trends of Land Conflicts in Sri Lanka published in August 2024 mentions the Tissa Viharaya as a site of conflict.
Pg. 27 of the report states,
“…the Sri Lankan military, during their occupation, constructed a Buddhist temple (named the Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya), with part of the temple encroaching on land belonging to private Tamil landowners. It has been alleged that, initially, an ancient monastery known as Tissa Viharaya was located at Thaiyiddi. On the 4th of May 2023 residents engaged in protests, demanding the return of land owned by 14 Tamil families surrounding the illegal construction. The Sri Lankan military is now attempting to further extend its presence by incorporating additional land.”
We also found a newspaper article in the Sinhala newspaper Mawbima from January 6, 2024, reporting on a similar protest outside the temple, indicating that the protests are not new and have been ongoing. Referring to the protests, Mawbima reported that Buddhist officials of the temple have been cooperating with the protesters to return the 1000 perch land to their original owners. The full article can be found here.
On further research, we found that the earliest report of protests about the temple goes back to May 4, 2023. This news report from The Tamil Guardian mentions that “the demonstrators are demanding that the temple be removed and the 100 parappu (1000 perches) of land surrounding the temple be returned to the 14 families who own it.” This further confirms that the protests are not related to the newly appointed government but to a specific allegation of land grabbing that had happened during the Civil War.
Conclusion
Thus, it is clear that the protests outside the Tissa Raja Maha Vihara temple area in Kankasanthurai, have been taken out of context and have been shared in a misleading manner to insinuate that the new government is inciting violence in the North.
Result: Partly false
Our sources
News report about a protest near Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai, posted in Tamil Guardian on November 15, 2024
News report about a protest near Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai, posted in Tamil Guardian on May 4, 2023
News report about Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya in Kankasanthurai, posted in Mawbima on May 4, 2024
The research titled The Intersectional Trends of Land Conflicts in Sri Lanka by the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Sri Lanka, published in August 2024
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