The Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, in my view, the decision of the previous Government cannot be justified at all. It was not only insensitive; it was a cruel decision. There are established practices when someone dies; these help families express grief and find solace, and that is why they hold religious value. In a time of uncertainty such as a pandemic, those practices are even more important. Therefore, we cannot accept such a cruel decision under any political or pseudo-justification, especially as it lacked scientific basis.

¶ 02 Our Government will never again allow any decision that disrespects the religious or other traditions of any community and causes them pain in that way. If officials made such decisions, it was within the then prevailing political culture. We are changing that culture. We will not protect any official who errs. We will not allow officials to act unscientifically and oppress the people. We accept that those who faced that decision — that community — deserve some form of redress. We are ready to discuss how best to do so without re-traumatizing them or turning this into political theatre.