The Hon. (Dr.) Elayathamby Srinath

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, with greetings to the Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers relevant to today’s Committee Stage debate, I wish to raise several important matters.

¶ 02 Only in a country where religious equality and ethnic equality prevail can we think about development and a stable economy and take practical steps to achieve them. Today we are deliberating on how to create stability. We desire that all who live here enjoy equal, equitable treatment with freedom of religion, and I trust you are proceeding under the guidance of the Hon. President on that basis. However, incidents occurring in the country do not reflect those conditions being demonstrated.

¶ 03 Indeed, many things have been occurring that cause mental distress and anguish to minorities. In this Budget, more than Rs. 13,000 million has been allocated to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. Just as Buddhism is practiced in this country, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity too must be treated equally. Those religions also have traditional histories. On that basis, the same equality and rights afforded to Buddhism must be afforded to Hinduism and the other religions; that is our expectation.

¶ 04 In the North and East there are many temples with ancient histories. The responsibility to preserve their antiquity and to reconstruct them lies with the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. For example, in Batticaloa District, there are several such temples: the Thandamalai Sri Murugan Temple is steeped in history, reflecting the histories of ancient kings and Tamils. Yet the Department of Archaeology and other departments under State administration have created obstacles such that even that temple could not be developed. Similarly, Kokkatticholai Sivan Kovil, Siththandi Murugan Kovil, Thirukkovil, Thambiluvil Murugan Kovil, Mandur Murugan Kovil, Verugal Murugan Kovil, and many others have ancient heritage. No significant allocations or reconstruction efforts have been pursued for them in past years. In Batticaloa, there are also Christian churches over 400–500 years old; allocations have not been made for them either.

¶ 05 Recently, under the Clean Sri Lanka initiative or some other scheme, in Habarana, a bus stand has been constructed in a way that blocks the frontage of a Hindu temple, causing pain to Hindus. How can such actions, under Government policy, instill confidence among the people? We trust your Government will not engage in actions that create fear or distrust in the minds of Hindus, Christians, or Muslims. Therefore, who proposed these projects? Who authorized them? In what manner were they carried out? We ask the Minister here to respond. Temples with ancient Hindu heritage and religious activities must be developed with proper examples and programmes.

¶ 06 In our North and East there are many temples. What programmes and allocations have you brought in this Budget to protect Tamil Hindu heritage? Though there are many plans and allocations, what steps have been taken to safeguard the heritage preserved by our kings like Pandara Vanniyan, Sankiliyan, and the Matara District’s World Nachchiyar (Ulaganayaki)? We ask this here. We desire that, in our areas too, after consulting scholars and political party representatives, you undertake such programmes.

¶ 07 In archaeology, Tamils have been facing great injustice for a long time. One of our MPs has clearly explained the calamities in the North. In such matters, involve Tamil academics—university scholars, technical experts—and link them with the Department of Archaeology, so that your activities will be designed to protect Tamil heritage. That is our expectation.

¶ 08 Regarding the Environment Ministry: many lands—including small village tanks in Batticaloa District used for irrigation—have been brought under the Forest Department. This has created obstacles to irrigating small fields and to inland fisheries. How will you resolve these? The Hon. President speaks about improving production to advance the economy. How will you implement this through the Ministry?

¶ 09 Hundreds of tanks in Batticaloa have been brought under the Forest Department, hindering agriculture. Inland fish production cannot be developed relying only on marine resources; we must encourage fisheries in small tanks. But the Forest Department refuses. Please urgently study this and make the necessary arrangements through your Ministry; we will also participate, and involve technical experts, to increase production.

¶ 10 You must also understand the people’s minds. In the last Presidential and General Elections, people voted for you in large numbers. But regarding the upcoming local government elections, the people face much distrust and discomfort. If you do not rectify these and instill confidence, you will face the consequences at that election.

¶ 11 On wildlife, we have discussed various programmes and made many requests with the Ministry. The human-elephant conflict is a major problem in Batticaloa, as elsewhere. There is a severe shortage of personnel. The Minister mentioned plans to address this, but what activities will be undertaken in Batticaloa? Due to elephant attacks, people are daily losing property, houses, and lives. What is the Government’s programme to prevent this?

¶ 12 People raise these questions daily with us, their representatives. When we ask officials, they cite shortages of staff and resources. It has been more than 100 days since you assumed office; why are programmes still delayed? Last week in Kiran, a house was destroyed by elephants. When asked why it was not prevented, they cited lack of vehicles. You must urgently operationalize your mechanisms. One hundred days is ample time to deliver services; if decisions and programmes cannot be executed even within this period, how will you inspire confidence among the people?

¶ 13 You who follow the teachings of the Buddha—who preached Dharma—must treat all religions equally and protect their devotees. What steps have you taken to ensure this? Daily such questions arise in our region. In Batticaloa, many temples with ancient histories exist but are in a state without equal opportunity. Therefore, launch an assistance programme for the renovation of such temples, and build confidence that the Government acts equally towards all houses of worship.

¶ 14 We also discussed natural resource issues with the Hon. Minister. For example, in Batticaloa, a major difficulty is the language issue among many officials appointed to our areas through the Environment or other Ministries. They are unable to communicate with the people; the people cannot present their grievances. Only if they understand the language can they comprehend the people’s problems. We are not speaking here about racism; we are describing the people’s situations. Therefore, please address this in the future.

¶ 15 Another issue in today’s debate: recently, the number of Council members appointed to the Eastern University has become a problem. The long-standing ethnic ratio has been altered, and many Sinhala-speaking persons have been appointed. We are not viewing this as racism. But how will Council members from outside the district contribute to the development of a local university? While the Government says it will cut public expenditure, appointing officials from outside the district brings an additional monthly cost of Rs. 30,000–50,000 per person. If 10 Council members are appointed from outside, that is about Rs. 500,000 per month—Rs. 6,000,000 per year—additional loss to the Government. You criticized the previous Government for wasteful spending; but such actions also become unnecessary, wasteful expenditures. Are there no qualified, honest, non-corrupt persons in Batticaloa to appoint as Council members? Who is behind this? Such unequal policies and appointments without understanding local conditions will create bitterness and hostility among the people towards you.

¶ 16 Batticaloa is a region rich in resources and ancient history—the land of Tamil kings before independence and European rule; the land of Ulaganayaki (World Nachchiyar). In such a region, under the President’s guidance, formulate a plan, involve archaeologists, and implement measures to protect religion and history equally. Government policies may be sound, and we welcome them, but there are many difficulties in implementation, with situations that cause pain to Tamils and that Muslims cannot accept. Therefore, when implementing such programmes, take along the representatives of the political parties elected by the people of those areas; obtain their concurrence for regional development programmes.

¶ 17 In the future, your actions must uphold ethnic and religious equality. We are ready to extend full cooperation in such instances. But if, conversely, actions undermine religious freedom or ethnic equality, we will have to express opposition.

¶ 18 Moreover, the people have placed trust in the Government in many matters; truly, your members were elected in large numbers in the North and East based on that trust. Your future actions must preserve that trust. With that hope, I reflect here the anguish caused by the Habarana bus stand blocking a Hindu temple’s frontage, and I ask the Minister what solution you will provide to this incident. With the expectation that you will implement fair policies and win the hearts of Tamil and Muslim people, I conclude. Thank you.