Thaiyiddy landowners continue protest against illegal Buddhist vihara

Tamil landowners in Thaiyiddy continued their protest this week, demanding the return of privately owned lands on which they say the illegally constructed Tissa Vihara has been established.

The demonstrators insisted that the land occupied by the Buddhist vihara, together with the surrounding private properties, must be restored to their rightful owners.

The protest has become a recurring act of resistance, with landowners gathering on every full moon day to press their longstanding demand for the release of their ancestral lands.

The latest phase of the protest began on Tuesday and was expected to continue for two consecutive days, with demonstrators remaining at the site until Wednesday evening.

The protesters maintained that the continued occupation of their lands is unlawful and called on the authorities to immediately return the properties to their legal owners.

The Tissa Vihara in Thaiyiddy has been at the centre of a long-running dispute in Valikamam North, where Tamil landowners say a Buddhist shrine has been constructed on land seized from local Tamil families.

Tamil landowners have repeatedly protested against the structure, describing it as part of the wider Sinhalisation of the Tamil homeland and the continued occupation of Tamil-owned land.

Residents have held demonstrations on full moon days for years, using each protest to renew their call for the land to be returned and for the removal of structures they say were built without lawful consent.

The site has also seen repeated police action against Tamil protesters and residents, including the arrest of two Tamil youths earlier this year after they reportedly took photographs near the disputed vihara.

Earlier protests have also led to arrests, including those of prominent civil society figures and local representatives who opposed the continued occupation of the land.

Five Tamils were released on bail last year after being arrested during a peaceful protest against the vihara, where demonstrators had demanded the return of encroached private lands.

The Thaiyiddy protest remains one of several ongoing land struggles across the Tamil homeland, where Tamils continue to resist military occupation, Buddhistisation and state-backed encroachment.