Exposing the Futility of Domestic Accountability in Sri Lanka
by British Tamils Forum, London, January 4, 2026
BTF Militarisation and Buddhisisation Jan 2026
The British Tamils Forum (BTF) strongly denounces the Sinhala Buddhist hegemony for the illegal erection
of the Tissa Vihara on privately owned land belonging to the Tamil people.
Amid the systematic destruction of Tamil heritage—most notably the targeting of Hindu temples—the
continued proliferation of Buddhist structures is deeply alarming. The construction of a Buddhist vihara in
Thaiyiddy, situated in the heart of the Tamil homeland of Jaffna, where there is little to no Buddhist
population, is particularly egregious. The establishment of this vihara on privately owned land has caused
serious unrest and distress among local residents.
This action, carried out by the occupying military, has now drawn condemnation even from some
prominent Buddhist monks within the island, underscoring the gravity and injustice of the situation.
Thaiyiddy, a village in the Jaffna Peninsula near Kankesanthurai, has become a stark symbol of the Sri
Lankan state’s ongoing militarisation and land dispossession in the Tamil homeland. The Sri Lankan
military has occupied privately owned Tamil land and enabled the construction of the Tissa Raja Maha
Vihara on land claimed by 18 Tamil families. The land was subjected to prolonged military occupation,
with no transparency, no consent from private owners, no planning permission from the local authority,
and no adherence to basic legal procedures governing private property. Similar patterns have emerged in
many other areas in the traditional Tamil homeland, demonstrating that this is not an isolated incident
but part of a systematic military-backed land grab that undermines the rule of law and constitutes a
serious violation of human rights.
The construction of Buddhist temples in predominantly Tamil areas is widely understood by local
communities, Tamil parliamentarians, and civil society as part of a broader project of Buddhisation and
demographic engineering in the North-East. Despite sustained peaceful protests, successive Sri Lankan
governments have failed to address the core issue of illegal land seizure, exposing the futility of internal
accountability mechanisms for Tamil people. This raises an unavoidable question: how long are Tamils
expected to endure military occupation, land dispossession, and cultural erasure in their own homeland?
Notably, this time resistance to these land grabs has also come from within the Buddhist community
itself. A Buddhist monk of Nainativu Vihara has publicly supported Tamil landowners, stating that land
seizure is unjust and incompatible with Buddhist values.
This stance exposes the falsity of the state’s narrative and highlights the abuse of religion to legitimise
militarisation. As extremist, state-aligned Buddhism continues to operate with impunity and international
actors remain largely silent, Tamil representatives reiterate their call for decisive international
intervention—through the United Nations, the Core Group, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of
religion or belief—to investigate military land grabs, uphold freedom of religion, and ensure the
immediate return of private land to its rightful Tamil owners. This case exemplifies the broader failure of
domestic accountability mechanisms within the Sri Lankan state apparatus.
Although Buddhism preaches non-violence and other noble values and calls upon its
followers—particularly Buddhist monks—to practise these principles, the reality in Sri Lanka has been
markedly different. Over decades, the country has witnessed aggressive hate speech, violent attacks, and
open threats against non-Buddhists by powerful monks, including Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thero, Chief
Incumbent of Sri Mangalarama Viharaya in Batticaloa, and Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven.
Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero. Such hate-mongering by prominent religious figures—who have
orchestrated violence and called for the annihilation of other faiths, ethnicities, and identities—has, over
the past seven decades, contributed to bloodshed, cycles of violence, and genocide, ultimately driving
the island toward bankruptcy and state failure.
It is imperative for the international community to take a firm stand against such virulent racism cloaked
in religious authority. The influence of these actors, past and present, has enabled persecution against
Tamils and other communities. Measures against notorious religious leaders—including travel bans and
targeted sanctions, grounded in principles of universal jurisdiction—are necessary to support a genuine
peace-building process and to empower the minority within Buddhist institutions who seek true
transformation through meaningful structural changes.
The enforced land grab and illegal construction of Buddhist structures in Thaiyiddy must therefore be
understood not as an isolated dispute, but as part of a broader pattern of conduct engaging Sri Lanka’s
obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, including protections against
arbitrary deprivation of property and discrimination. Continued inaction risks entrenching impunity and
further exposes the systemic failure of domestic accountability mechanisms. The international
community’s response—or its silence—will determine whether these violations persist.
Contact: BTF MEDIA Tel: +44 (0) 7825 448 753
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Notes to Editors:
British Tamils Forum exists to harness the skills and the knowledge of the members of the forum, well-wishers and significant
others including mainstream decision makers in the UK with the aim of alleviating the sufferings of the Tamils community in the
Island of Sri Lanka and to further their right to self-determination within a democratic frame work under pinned by international
law, its covenants and conventions. For more information and/or visit: www.britishtamilsforum.org