The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, as this is a very important national issue, I think it is worthwhile to allocate time for this discussion held by this august House with a noble objective. Joining the thoughts expressed by the Hon. Prime Minister, the Hon. Minister, and specialist doctor Nihal Abeysinghe, I wish to add this: though not identical, Hitler also did something of this nature. Under the guise of medical recommendations, he used false medical rationales to target Jews and other peoples. While not identical, we see this as a communal crime perpetrated with the misuse of “science”. Many Muslims have told me they felt as if they were being “burnt alive” — a curse and an incomprehensible pain to those attached to that culture. It was not merely about the number cremated; it tore out people’s conscience. The lies used to justify it later were immense — we saw them even after they were disproven. Then, citing “water table issues”, COVID bodies were buried in Ottamavadi. People from Mannar — in MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s district — had to take their dead from Mannar to Ottamavadi in Batticaloa, paying Rs. 75,000–86,000 for transport.

¶ 02 Even today, if they want to visit their loved ones’ graves, they must go there from Mannar or Vavuniya. We agree this was a communal crime. Therefore, beyond officials, there was a political decision. As a Government, after discussing this fundamentally — also taking your views — we agree to take necessary legal and governmental measures to penalize those involved as permitted by law, not driven by our personal emotions. We have expressed this before; that is our position. Thank you for bringing this up.