We have never been anti-Tamil Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera

We have never stood against the Tamils and it was our sincere intention to defeat terrorism since it would lead both Sinhala and Tamil communities towards disaster and we do not have a feeling of hatred towards the Tamils as Buddhist priests,” Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said addressing a Sinhala Buddhist cultural festival at Jaffna Veerasingam Hall on Saturday (14).

He said that a large segment of Tamils underwent hardship and suffering during the war that took place in the North. “The destruction of Tamils was far greater in proportion to the Sinhalese. The Tamil polity held the view in the last decade that they fought against the Sinhalese. Both the Sinhala and Tamil communities did not have a clear understanding of each other. The wrong policies of the Sinhala and Tamil politicians lead to the social rebellion,” Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero said.

He said, “The burning of the Jaffna library was a politically motivated and selfish issue and we are no enemies as claimed by certain people.”

“The fighting escalated to a fullscale war due to the intervention of foreign powers. Our political leaders followed a wrong foreign policy. When we were in close alliance with America, India was with the U.S.S.R. Since there is no U.S.S.R today in existence there is a tug of war between India and China in the global market. Since we have become puppets we had to face a series of issues,” he said.He also said that the water in Rajarata had turned brackish due to extensive use of chemicals by the farming community. Kidney ailment was widely prevalent in those areas.

“Over a hundred thousand people are faced with death due to the indiscriminate use of chemicals. Hence, the NPC should adopt a chemical-free agricultural policy in the North. There is a danger of Jaffna submerging in the sea in the coming years. The sea water level is rising up due to excessive emission of carbon dioxide. The UN had already cautioned about it. Sri Lanka would not be destroyed due to atmospheric disturbance hence we have to protect it,” Ven. Athuraliye Rahtana Thero said.

He said that consumption of alcohol, narcotics and prostitution had reached alarming levels among the Sinhala and Tamil communities. “Therefore it is high time that we saved our society from the clutches of such evil forces,’ he said

“Our country is currently facing a cultural disaster. The narcotics menace had spread its tentacles from Colombo to the North as well.