Karu warns of threat on ethnic, religious disharmony

UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya yesterday warned of looming disharmony among the ethnic and religious groups in the country and the Government was responsible for a speedy resolution.

The following is the full text of Jayasuriya’s statement:

It is sad to note that there is a situation brewing up in the country, creating mistrust, suspicion and hatred amongst the people belonging to different ethnic and religious groups; when they were expecting harmony, reconciliation and co-existence in the country during the post war period.

This is not the situation the large majority of people expected during the post war era. When we look impartially at the incident which occurred recently in Dambulla, it is evident that the government has no clear strategy or vision to build co-existence amongst the people belonging to different religions.

It is the duty of the Government which is responsible for giving orders, to rule the country, to find solutions through lawful means, without disrupting the harmony which prevails amongst the people of different ethnic and religious groups. The incident which took place in Dambulla indicates that the government is not keen to find solutions through such a course of action. Also the Government has failed to understand the difference between a request and an order and when there is a dispute between people and religions of the country, the value of a request rather than an order, whilst keeping the disputing parties within the field, when they are involved in highly sensitive disputes.

We wish to emphasize that the Government must not drag down the people who suffered for three decades during the LTTE terror to suffer again by creating division among them in a different way. It is the unalienable responsibility of the Government to prevent any attempt to create disturbance and disharmony in the country by whatever external forces. If such an unfortunate situation arises, the innocent masses who are already subjected to suffering will suffer the most.