Stop discrimination, join together as one nation: Dullas

“If the Sinhalese, who are descendants of the Bengali Prince Vijaya, do not like to be identified as a nation of Indian origin, it is unfair to refer to the upcountry Tamils as an ethnic group with a South Indian origin,” Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said.

Addressing a ceremony held in Nuwara-Eliya, to mark the opening of a vocational training centre donated by the Indian government at a cost of Rs. 205 million, Minister Alahapperuma said that it was time to end

If the Sinhalese, who are descendants of the Bengali Prince Vijaya, do not like to be identified as a nation of Indian origin, it is unfair to refer to the upcountry Tamils as an ethnic group with a south Indian origin

the habit of giving a foreign identity to ethnic groups within the country.

“I do not like referring to our upcountry Tamils as an ethnic group with Indian origin because this would separate them from the mainstream of the Sri Lankan nation. Surprisingly, no one ever called the Sinhalese a nation of Indian origin which clearly shows the discrimination against upcountry Tamils,” Minister Alahapperuma said.

He said, inter ethnic harmony, mutual respect and understanding are prerequisites for nation building and economic progress at a time when the country was faced with the challenge of making amends for the destruction caused by the 30year-war. All ethnic groups should join together and go forward as one nation and one family.

A major problem faced by the government is the provision of employment to youth who had been unable to obtain university admission and had also not passed the O/L examination. The Youth Affairs and Skills Development Ministry has taken steps to enrol a large number of youth for vocational training and skills development.