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Religious, ethnic harmony: Select committee appointed

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8 September 2018 09:16 am - 5     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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A select committee has been appointed to study and recommend ways and means of ensuring ethnic and religious harmony in Sri Lanka, Parliament was informed yesterday.

Deputy Speaker Ananda Wijesiri who was in the Chair said the select committee would be headed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and include the deputy speaker, Opposition Leader R. Sampathan, Rauff Hakeem, D. M. Swaminathan, Susil Premajayantha, Dinesh Gunawardene, C. B. Ratnayake, Vijitha Herath, Douglas Devananda, Selvam Adekaranathan, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Gayantha Karunatilleke, Mano Ganesan, Wijedasa Rajapakshe, Ali Zahir Mawlana, John Amaratunga, Thalatha Athukorala and Ranjith Madduma Bandara.

The committee will also look at ways of preventing the propagation of defamatory views that undermine national harmony or the engagement in such activities and the necessity of taking legal action against individuals who engage in such activities. It will discuss the suitability of including hate speech as a crime in the Penal Code, categorizing the schools system on non racial or no religious basis, on establishing a parliamentary committee empowered to entertain complaints about the issues faced by minority ethnic groups in the North and the East, on formulating relevant legal provisions required for general implementation of the law when establishing places of worship and erecting statues and look into the possibility of banning news which disturb national amity. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)


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  Comments - 5

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  • Dillan Saturday, 08 September 2018 04:06 PM

    Punishing Vijayakala MP is equal to punishing for telling truth in srilanka. Law can't measure the feelings or truth.If survey is conducted on this issue. Srilankan law system would be shame.

    Colin Saturday, 08 September 2018 05:08 PM

    This is an excellent idea, and I hope the committee's efforts bear fruit. However there is an even more important issue that needs to be addressed before it is too late. We should canvass for a similar committee to recommend measures to deal with corruption not just in public life, but also to promote honesty and decent values in our homes and schools

    Amarendra Sri Chandragupta Saturday, 08 September 2018 06:32 PM

    The statement 'Categorizing the schools system on non racial or no religious basis' need to be looked into very carefully as it should apply to all schools not just government schools including private and semi government christian missionary schools. Today Buddhist schools are government run but most Christian schools have their own administration. I hope the said 'law when establishing places of worship and erecting statues' will also apply to the Mosques which are mushrooming every where in the Colombo suburbs and in the provincial towns.

    Lord Wolfstein Sunday, 09 September 2018 12:12 PM

    Religious harmony begins with not harassing other communities. The first thing was has to be stopped is the unwanted loudspeaker plague of various places of worship.

    Sangaralingham Monday, 10 September 2018 08:46 AM

    Must be a matter of fact principal character begin at home. Society including schools must teach basic manners in classrooms. Violence destructions country faced is a heard instinct. Some idiot start it many follow. It happen in schools communities countries at all docial levels. Even some politicians were responsible. What we need is a honest media system to identify the culprits and make shame of them to prevent further damage eithin communities societies cities etc. Country constitution must include hate speeches as social crime and bring culprits to justice. Mental pollution lead to social to political pollution with hate violence destruction.


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