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Problems go far by not talking: Wijeyadasa
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who met Batticaloa's Mangalaramaya Temple Chief Incumbent Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera, said the problems had worsened because those who say the monks are creating them had not discussed these matters with a view to solving them.
“We cannot find solutions by hiding or sweeping problems under the carpet. I was criticised when I spoke about them in parliament. We have a right to express our views and as citizens our responsibility is to create a peaceful country for the future generations,” he said.
The minister said the minority issues differ from district to district and province to province with the minority in one part of the country being a majority elsewhere as such Tamils and Muslim could not be described as minorities.
He said the Sinhalese are in the majority in the South, the Tamils are in the majority in Batticaloa.
“There were some 28,000 Sinhalese living in Batticaloa before the war. Now the population has been decreased and as a minority in Batticaloa the Sinhalese have problems,” the minister said.
He said during his meeting with the monk he was informed not only of the concerns of the Sinhalese but also of the Tamils and Muslims living in Batticaloa.
The minister said thee was no Sinhala MP to represent the Batticaloa District and there is no Sinhala provincial
councillor in the Eastern Provincial Council to highlight the concerns of the Sinhalese people resulting in them being overwhelmed by these problems.
“In some areas, the minority Sinhalese have been unable to obtain a Gramasewaka certificate and as such are unable to enter their names in the voters list. They had lost their inherited lands as well. Some officials in the Divisional Secretariats refuse to read a letter which is in Sinhala even if they are capable of doing so. There have been instances where some of these officers have been known to have dumped letters written in Sinhala to the dustbin. It is in this backdrop that the chief incumbent of the Mangalaramaya had exposed these matters so that the people and the politicians became aware of them,” the minister said.
He said that at least now attempts were being made to identify the issues and create an environment conductive for all people in the country to live peacefully irrespective of their religion, caste or race. (Chaturanga Pradeep)
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