My Visit to Kiniyawa and Welgamvehera
By Harsha Perera, Melbourne, Australia
During a recent trip to Sri lanka I thought of making use of the ceasefire to visit Trincomalee. I was accompanied by family members and friends on this trip. The visit was made during the 3rd week of June and it was a brief one lasting just 2 days. While we were in Trinco we were told about the historical significance of The temple at thiriyaya but due to time constraints couldn't make it there. On our way back to Colombo we decided to visit the Kanniya hot water wells. On our way there I saw sign boards for Velgam Vehera. I had heard this name but didn't know much about the place. I inquired about this temple from some Sinhala traders at the hot water wells and they told me that it is a very old temple and that it had come under terrorist attack some time ago. We decided to visit the temple. Arriving at the temple we had a look around at the ancient ruins and then we spoke with Ven. Ampitiye Seelawansa Thero who is the incumbent monk at this ancient vihare. This is a temple that has been around since King Devanampiyatissa's time. The temple, the village and the adjoining Army detachment came under terrorist attack in 2000. During that attack some villagers lost their lives while the monk himself was injured and was warded at the national hospital in Colombo for almost one year. After the present ceasefire the monk returned to the temple and has since been encouraging the original villagers to re-settle. The monk said that he comes under a lot of pressure from the LTTE, who don't want any Sinhala people settling in that area. Out of an original population of 2000, to date only 64 families have returned. I don't blame the others for not returning given that there are very few opportunities for the people to earn a living. The govt. gives each family a miserly sum of Rs. 15,000.00 for re-settlement. The only means of income for the villagers is selling firewood or working as labourers at a nearby quarry or at the point where sand is collected. I am told that the quarry is run by the LTTE or LTTE sympathisers while the sand collection point is controlled by the LTTE. A "tax" of a few hundred rupees is levied by them for each tractor load of sand. The monk said that while everyone was for peace, that there is no purpose of a peace that is denying them their fundamental right to live in an area of their choosing. He further said that while the LTTE is roaming all over, no soldier can venture out far from their camp because of the threat of been abducted by the LTTE. It was at Velgam Vehera that seven soldiers who were trying to load sand were kidnapped by the LTTE in 2002. They were released only after LTTE terrorists who had been arrested for breaking the law were released. The govt. in the name of "peace" tried to downplay the abductions, but it was the assertive actions of the monks of the eastern province that forced the govt. to act to have the soldiers released. The monk listed out the requirements of the villagers which are many. Some of the requirements are sheets for housing, bicycles for the children to travel to school as public transport is almost non-existent, repairing the nearby tank so that villagers can engage in agriculture as a means of livelihood and a computer for the children. SPUR through the pilisarana project aims to address some if not all of these requirements. I am pleased to state that a computer has been sent to velgam vehera and I hear that it is been used to educate the children about the basics of computers. Unlike Tamil villages which get vast amounts of aid from foreign NGO's and UN agencies, this particular village and I am told other Sinhala villages get little or NO assistance from those agencies. Once again the propaganda and the lobbying of the Ealamist has managed to convinced the international humanitarian agencies to direct aid towards Tamil villages. Evidence of such assistance to Tamil villages can be seen by the articles carried in the pro-LTTE website Tamilnet. Some of these articles are:
(1) Spanish Red Cross assists Trinco returnees "The Spanish Red Cross (SRC), with the assistance of Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) and funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), Wednesday began distributing agricultural inputs and implements to the returnees and war affected communities in the Trincomalee district, sources said. SRC delegate, Ms. Maite Garcia Manzano, supervised the distribution with the assistance of the Trincomalee branch of the SLRC at Chenaiyoor in Muttur east, controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam." http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=10023&catid=13. I was notified by Ms. Maite Garcia Manzano of the Spanish Red Cross that they have provided Vilgam Vehera with non-food relief items in November. This is after the original version of this letter was written and hence that is why the letter didn't refer to it. I appreciate this assistance and hope that the Spanish Red Cross and other international NGO's will continue and increase such assistance to Sinhala and Muslim villages like Vilgam Vehera. (2) Netherlands aids NE resettlement, educational development "The Ambassador for Netherlands in Sri Lanka, Ms. Susan Blankhart, Tuesday inaugurated the scheme for granting livelihood assistance for resettled families in the eight districts of the North-East province and the donation of school furniture to improve education in the province at a function held at the Trincomalee Town Hall, sources said." http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=73&artid=8830 If the villagers who reside in villages like Velgam Vehera are not provided with the means to lead a decent life, they will have no option but to leave these villages. The abandoned lands will be eagerly grabbed by the LTTE and they will get one step closer to Ealam. All in all it was an eye opening visit to Velgam Vehera and I hope that all of us can contribute towards the upliftment of terrorist threatened villages like Velgam Vehera and thereby stop the process of creeping ealamization that is taking place under the cover of this peace process.We urge everyone who is interested in stopping the break up of Sri Lanka to contribute towards the development and rehabilitation of this and other terrorist threatened villages in any way possible. To determine how one can help the village of Velgam vehera, please contact the incumbent monk by phone or by snail mail as follows:
Ven. Ampitiye Seelawansa Thero Welgam Rajamaha Viharaya Kanniyawa Trincomalee Sri lanka Tel: +94 26 222 2658 +94 26 224 2001
If you wish to know more details on Wilgam Vehera, please contact Harsha Perera.
Read more on ... The forgotten victims of WAR and Peace - Vavunia (By Keerthi Jayasuriya, Melbourne, Australia).
An Appeal to Readers - If you have any first- hand information on " The forgotten victims of WAR and Peace in Sri Lanka", please send your contributions to kawantissa@hotmail.com for publication of this column.