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Friday, 21 November 2014 01:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Ashwin Hemmathagama
Our Lobby Correspondent
The call for respect for all religions reigned during the committee stage debate on Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs and National Languages and Social Integration Ministries in Parliament.
Opening the debate, UNP MP John Amaratunga requested the Government to postpone the presidential election, which will have an adverse impact on the Pope’s visit, scheduled for January 2015.
“We are Catholics and according to the available information the Pope’s visit also falls on the same days. Standard Vatican protocol states that the Pope will visit if there is peace within a country. With an election the chances are high that the Pope’s visit will be delayed. I beg of you to postpone the presidential election. I know that the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, agrees with me,” Amaratunga said.
Meanwhile, commenting on a ministry which has no ministers, Amaratunga said: “Today for the first time in Parliamentary history we are trying to debate about a subject which is not handled by a minister or deputy minister. The minister has vacated his post and left the Government. The Parliament is heading in the wrong direction. According to a certain website we should expect more changes in this House during the next few days.”
In response, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage and Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena said: “According to the Constitution, the respective portfolios of such ministries falls under the president. So there is nothing to worry about. We should continue the debate; this shows how little knowledge you have about Constitutional matters,” Minister Gunawardena said.
Joining the debate from the Government’s side, Prime Minister and Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that the majority of Sri Lankans were living in harmony despite a few minor issues taking place.
“Buddhists don’t have the right to look down on any religion. That is what the Buddha taught. But a few people go against such preaching. Our Constitution guarantees religious rights. However, in other parts of the world groups from the same religion fight against each other. In Sri Lanka we don’t have such issues. The Government took necessary measures to develop the four main religions in the island. Religion draws the line between the beast and the human.”
Opposition lawmaker Gamini Jayawickrama Perera charged that the Government was failing to uphold law and order and protect religious and archaeological sites.
“Bad omens are there. You can’t go against karma. Politicians shouldremember the fact that they are here to rule but not to own. Similar to Prince Gemunu, it has come to a point where we are forced to decide. Archaeological treasures are stolen from all places. It reminds you how two monks were killed in Kotte to obtain the legendary sword of Prince Sapumal.
“Another monk was killed in a temple in Moratuwa Egoda Uyana. This was where some of the treasure of the Kotte King was kept. The list goes on to include many other places including tanks, temples and reservoir bunds. During the recent past, 1,071 archaeologically important places were targeted for treasure hunts,” Perera said.
Responding to him, National Heritage Minister Dr. Jagath Balasuriya said: “It is known among social science students that people are making use of supernatural forces to reach certain targets. The Cinnamon Gardens police are conducting investigations into the recent incident. The CCTV cameras were disconnected to make room for the current renovations. We checked and it was reconfirmed that not a single item has gone missing from the museum.
“The number of archaeological sites reported destroyed in 2012 comes to 340. In 2013 this number has gone down to 225. By the end of August 2014 we noted 157 such incidents. There are over 250,000 archaeological places in Sri Lanka and it is not an easy task to protect them all but we are looking at making use of them for economical purposes. We are in the process of creating an archaeological constitution.”
Agreeing with Dr. Balasuriya’s remarks, UPFA National List MP Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thero discouraged treasure hunting: “We have an ancient and vibrant culture but we are now deviating from traditions in our culture. The Department of Archaeology alone cannot stop the attacks and the destruction of our national heritage. Some are conducting excavations in search of gold. They destroy statutes and other monuments for treasures. When the Deegavapi Stupa was under construction, we found a small casket made of gold. That was all that was found, nothing more. People should discontinue ransacking archaeologically important places for treasure which does not exist.”
Eran urges Govt. to protect the rights of minorities
UNP MP Eran Wickramaratne on Wednesday speaking in Parliament during the Budget Debate today on National Language Policy and Social Integration urged the Government to protect the rights of the minorities. Following are excerpts from Wickramaratne’s speech:
During the colonial period the Sinhala speaking people were disadvantaged by the obstacles to communicate in their mother tongue. After independence and the adoption of the ‘Sinhala Only’ policy we disadvantaged the Tamil speaking people. This country has remained divided primarily due to the non recognition of the Tamil language. This situation was corrected when this assembly adopted Sinhala and Tamil as the official language of the country. Constitutionally it was a progressive move to put right that which was wrong.
Despite the official language policy there is little visible signs of improvement in the implementation of the policy.
There are buses of the S.L.T.B. which do not still carry its destination in all three languages. There are police stations which have no Tamil language capability. As of January 2014 there were only 2,326 Tamil speaking police officers, which is a low percentage of the police force. The Government announced in 2014 that it was recruiting 150 Tamil speaking police officers. It is a small step in the right direction. Out of 408 police stations only 157 have a Tamil speaking capability. Even in the dominant Tamil speaking areas, for example in Chundikulam in Vavuniya, Sampur in Trincomalee and Bogawantalawa in Nuwara Eliya Districts there was no Tamil speaking capability in the police station.
We conduct important Government business only in the Sinhala language. Even at the Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat, where I attend meetings, the meetings are exclusively conducted in Sinhala. The city of Colombo has a considerable Tamil population and their Constitutional rights are being violated. However, when the Government wants to collect taxes or payments they will communicate in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The telephone bill or the electricity bill will be sent in all three languages. It proves that the Government has no political will to implement a trilingual policy, while it will do everything possible to communicate in their language when it wants to collect revenue.
There are 19 recommendations in the LLRC report on the implementation of the National Languages policy, social integration and reconciliation. There is no progress on 16% of the recommendations, poor progress on 53% and partial progress on 31%.
The Constitution provides for singing the National Anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil languages. However at Government functions and national events this is not being followed. I want to know from the Minister of National Languages and Social Integration, whether he supports the Government policy of non-implementation of the Constitution? If not, what will he do to implement, the singing of the National Anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil. A verse in the National Anthem says “Eka mawakage daru kela bavina,” we are the children of one mother. If we truly believe that we are the children of one mother, we must provide the opportunity for the Tamil-speaking people to sing our National Anthem with pride and emotion in their mother tongue. Today, sperm is obtained from Europe, the egg from Africa, and a womb is rented from Asia – a test tube baby is born. This is the advancement in science. Please tell me whether this baby is European, African, Asian, Sinhala or Tamil? Our language is given to us from the environment into which we are born. So let’s recognise the humanity and dignity in every person, and respect their language and cultural rights.
The past years have made the Muslim community in this country feel that they are second class citizens. We have created a cleavage that did not exist over the last one hundred years. We saw its manifestation in Beruwala and Aluthgama in the recent past. The Government’s inability to provide economically and materially was exploited to create this mayhem. Within hours of the incident I was there to witness the destruction of Muslim-owned businesses, houses and mosques. The UNP completely denounces the treatment of minorities in this particular way. The perpetrators have still not been apprehended. The perpetrators are being protected by high officials in Government.
A culture of impunity is being fostered. YouTube videos will show that the security establishment watched as the destruction took place. I know that the SLFP does not approve of this behaviour. The behaviour we saw in Beruwala and Aluthgama was not the true face of the Sinhala people. It was not the true face of Buddhism. We are a tolerant and compassionate people.
The UNP was built as the foundation of a united identity. In 1946 the name of our party was proposed by a Tamil Leader and seconded by a Muslim Leader. Our Leaders and founding Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake showed us the way of a united Sri Lanka. We travel still on that road. We must protect the rights of minorities.
