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Police use teargas to disperse Sihala Ravaya protesters at Kuragala
View(s):Police used teargas to disperse Sihala Ravaya members who tried to enter the Kuragala mosque premises at Balangoda yesterday.
The protesters demanded the demolition of the mosque and two tombs within the premises, claiming that they stood on an archaeological site that once housed Buddhist centres.
The protesters, led by the Ven. Magalkande Sudantha Thera, vowed they would come back if the authorities did not take action to remove the mosque and the two tombs.
The protesters gathered outside the Kuragala mosque site in spite of an enjoining order issued by the Balangoda Magistrate against any protests.
Police said they were forced to disperse the crowd of about 150 Sihala Ravaya supporters who had come armed with crowbars and other tools to demolish the mosque.
“We used tear gas and dispersed the crowd to avert a clash between the protesters and the villagers,” Inspector Athula Perera said.
The Ven. Sudantha Thera also said they had written to the Defence Secretary, the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of Archaeology, highlighting the archaeological importance of the site and giving them notice that Sihala Ravaya would stage protests at the site if the authorities took no action.
“We wanted to ensure that artefacts are preserved. We want to remove the mosque and place a Buddha statue at the site,” the monk said, accusing the people visiting the mosque of causing damage to stone inscriptions.
Archaeology Director General Senarath Dissanayake said that in 1990 a nearby plot of land was set aside to relocate the mosque. He said that other than the mosque and the two tombs, some 40 buildings within the premises had been removed.
Dr. Dissanayake said the mosque authorities at their last meeting with Archaeology Department officials had requested a grace period of one year to relocate the mosque.
The mosque authorities said they had not collected enough funds to build a new mosque in the nearby land.
The Archaeology chief said there was little evidence to show that the site was of any religious significance to the Muslims.
“The first human settlement at the site dates back to 16,000 years, but the mosque was built only in the 1920s,” Dr. Dissanayake said.
According to archeological research carried out since 2013, the carbon analysis indicates human settlements dating back to 16,000 years. Skeletal remains of a prehistoric man dating back to 8,000 years along with a large number of stone and bone tools and beads have also been uncovered during excavations in the area.
At the time the site was declared a protected archeological site the mosque had been functioning with a feast being conducted once a year.