‘Defence Secy’s statement to BBC, a most honest truth’

Parliamentarian Ven Ellawala Medhananda Thera has highly appreciated the statement made by Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to the BBC recently and said it is the most honest truth expressed in this century.

Ven Ellawala Medhananda thera

Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in an interview with the BBC on Monday said Sri Lankan irrespective of their ethnicity and other differences, should be able to live in any part of the country. He said all Sri Lankans regardless of their race should have the freedom to live in any part of the country.

Ven Ellawala Medhananda Thera in a statement to the ‘Dasa Desin’ programme said the defence secretary stated the absolute truth and people who eschew ethnic and religious differences in this country should pay tribute to him for this statement.

Ven Medhananda thera alleged the TNA is the only political party which tried to create a crisis in the country by setting up Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims against each other.

No evidence or supportive factor has been found so far in the North and East for Tamils to claim it as their homeland. Well known Indian Historian Welakanda Shastri in his book says Tamils had even migrated to South India from elsewhere.

He says that fossils found in Jaffna were much older and ancient than the fossils in South India. Given this situation how can the North be claimed as a homeland of Tamils who migrated from India, Ven Medhananda thera asked. When taking into account the national heritage of all communities in this country no artefact has been found so far to support the claim that the North had been the Tamil homeland. If you take the kovils at Kandakuty, Nagadeepa, Karaitivu and Delft most of these kovils had been built at venues where Buddhist places of worship had existed earlier.

The entire Jaffna Peninsula including all surrounding islands had been called or referred to as Nagadeepa as stated in the Wallipuram golden book chronicled during the reign of King Vasabha. This is supported by our Atta kathas too.

Ven Medhananda thera said the Nagapusani Amman kovil opposite the Nagadeepa viharaya in the present Nagadeepa island had been built over a very large Buddhist place of religious worship. A stone inscription found in this kovil had been removed and deposited in a so-called museum. The Department of Archaeology should pay attention to this inscription. Ven Medhananda thera said the inscription proved that King Parakramabahu I had built and maintained a Port at Kayts which was then known as Uratota. If the administration of the Port at Kayts was in the hands of the Sinhalese during the Polonnaruwa period how can one claim that region as a Tamil homeland.

The Thunukai inscription stated there was a hospital belonging to the king who reigned in Anuradhapura. A village called Polkadugama had been set up for the administration of this hospital. The officials in charge of this hospital had visited Kallampattu in Trincomalee and donated a plot of land for a Bhikkhuni Ashramaya as stated in the Kallampattu inscription. When taking this evidence into consideration there is no place in Sri Lanka which could be claimed as homeland by the Tamil community.

Ven Medhananda thera said the 30 year war had led the Tamils into an abyss. Therefore what ought to be done is for all three communities to join hands and develop all the regions in the country and assist the President’s nation building effort.