Buddhist monks vent their ire on screening Tamil films in Sri Lanka
Colombo/Chennai, Apr 10 (TruthDive): Ravana Balaya, a Buddhist nationalist group including Buddhist monks yesterday staged a demonstration outside the office of the cinema regulator, Public Performance Board (PPB) and cinema theatres demanding to halt screening of Tamil movies from Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka.
Ven Saddhatissa of Ravana Balaya said that they wanted to see the end of Tamil Nadu movies in Sri Lanka. He further asked to halt screening of films by Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan and Sarath Kumar in particular.
Nevertheless, PPB chairman Gamini Sumanasekera said they were powerless in the matter and that it is a decision of the National Film Corporation and the government.
This call for boycott of Tamil films in the island nation by the Buddhist monks comes in the wake of a day-long hunger strike observed by Tamil Nadu Film Directors’ Association (TANTIS) and Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) on March 19 and another hunger strike organized by the Nadigar Sangam in which the entire film fraternity of Kollywood gathered to show their support for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Rajinikanth,Kamal Hassan, Ajith, Sarath Kumar were some of the prominent Kollywood stars present at the anti-Sri Lanka protest organized on April 2. The Tamil film stars demanded for the rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils and sought an international probe into the alleged war crimes of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan movie stars have decided to stage a ‘prayer of determination’ on Friday to make their Tamil Nadu counterparts “see the truth as regards Sri Lanka.”
Award-winning Malini Fonseka, dubbed ‘Queen of Sinhalese Cinema’ who ruled the industry in 1970s and now a ruling party Member of Parliament said that they would invite their Tamil Nadu counterparts to visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves the peaceful situation exiting for all communities.
Aside in Tamil Nadu, the passing of a resolution in the State Assembly last month demanding a referendum for a separate Tamil Eelam, urging New Delhi to stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly nation and calling for economic sanctions; pull-out of Sri Lankan players and support staff from IPL matches hosted in Chennai as demanded by Jayalalithaa; the recent and massive anti-Sri Lanka protests that raged Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalaithaa urging Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled in Sri Lanka this November have only proven to be the strong indicators of rising anti-Sinhalese sentiments in Tamil Nadu.
WikiLeaks: US And The LTTE Should Join Together To Defeat The Muslims – Pro-LTTE Tamils
By Colombo Telegraph -April 10, 2013
“Note: The U.S. team repeatedly asked interlocutors about continuing reports of Muslim extremism in the east. Most observers had little clear- cut information about the matter and Muslim interlocutors denied it was a factor. Nonetheless, the team did notice many new mosques under construction and various “Islamic foundation” offices operating in Muslim towns. It is hard to see how eastern Muslims could afford to pay for the construction of all the new mosques, so it would seem possible that Middle Eastern money is coming in, as some claim.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
Ashley Wills
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable discusses the situation in the Eastern province under the ceasefire agreement. The “Confidential” cable written on November 14, 2002 and signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo E. Ashley Wills.
“When queried, Sri Lankan security forces replied that they had not seen any Arabs or Pakistanis visiting the region. GSL officials added that they just were not sure what was going on in Muslim areas, however. They had heard of small extremist groups with names like “Jihad” and “Osama” operating in the east, but did not think they were much of a threat to the peace. Pro-LTTE Tamils that the team met with repeatedly claimed that Muslims were radicalized, and armed and dangerous. One pro-LTTE figure, V. Kamaladas, the head of a local NGO Forum for the east, basically indicated that the U.S. and the LTTE should join together to defeat the Muslims!” the ambassador further wrote.
