Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Sir, I rise to a point of Order.

¶ 02 Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, make your point of Order brief.

¶ 03 Sir, let me speak only for 30 seconds.

¶ 04 The Hon. Kabir Hashim mentioned in his speech that Rs. 100 million has been allocated for the Jaffna Library. First of all, we thank the Government for allocating that money. He also mentioned that we have never apologized for bombing Sri Dalada Maligawa. At that time, I was seven years old and now, if that was committed by the LTTE and if they were representing us, on behalf of the people of the Northern Province, I sincerely apologize for the wrongdoing, the bombing of Sri Dalada Maligawa.

¶ 05 Unfortunately, since 1983, we have been facing systemized discrimination in this country and that is the only reason why the Tamil people were forced to take up arms. But, at this moment, we do not want to talk about that unfortunate past; we want to move forward. Therefore, we would like to ask the Government and the Opposition parties to stop talking about ethnic issues. Let us move forward as one country. That is the biggest request coming from the Northern Province, as we have faced a lot of consequences. Thank you.