Don’t use Jaffna tragedy to stir up racism: Ruwan
While unreservedly condemning the heinous gang rape and killing of the 18-year-old schoolgirl at Pungudutivue in Kayts, State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday vowed that the government would not allow anyone to exploit the situation for political mileage.
The anger expressed by the people in Jaffna was not racially motivated nor did it have any impact on national security. He said the anger expressed by the people in Jaffna was not racially motivated nor did it have any impact on national security.
At a news conference held at the Information Department, he told the media that contrary to claims by the opposition, there had been no protests or demonstrations against the government, the police or the armed forces by people in the North in the wake of this senseless killing which shocked and shook the whole country.
The state minister blamed certain opposition members and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for attempting to use this killing to fulfil their narrow political ends by inciting the people with the ulterior motive of stirring up racism.
He said the anger expressed by the people in Jaffna was not racially motivated nor did it have any impact on national security. It was purely spontaneous and as far as the government was concerned no one was known to have roused them up.
“Under no circumstances will the government lower its guard or be complacent about national security or will it leave any room for bankrupt politicians to use this tragedy in their bid to return to power by scoring political brownie points. Under no circumstances will we leave any room for the LTTE to raise its ugly head again on Sri Lankan soil,” the state minister said.
“The moment the government was informed of the disturbances, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met Minister Rauff Hakeem, TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, MPs M. Sumanthiran, Vijayakala Maheswaran, Police Chief N.K. Illangakone and Army Commander Krishantha De Silva. At this meeting it was decided to send the Police Chief and the Army Commander immediately to Jaffna to bring the situation under control and that was exactly what they did within hours,” he said. “It is indeed sad to state that former president Rajapaksa is issuing statements to incite people on racial grounds. He is saying that LTTE sympathizers are commemorating dead LTTE cadres, but this is a baseless fabrication. We have no information that such things happened in any part of the country. These nefarious attempts by Mr. Rajapaksa is in sharp contrast to what he does at temples where he offers flowers and takes part in rituals.”
The minister said the government had no grouse with the commemoration of the dead in a Kovil or Church but glorifying the LTTE, displaying pictures of Prabhakaran and remembering the dead LTTE cadres was entirely a different matter, which the government would never condone nor ever allow to happen.
He accused certain social media outlets of behaving in an extremely irresponsible manner and spreading disinfomation saying LTTE activists were arrested. Many of the pictures on internet about LTTE activities were shot in South India and not in any part of Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the police and the armed forces are doing their utmost to maintain peace and communal harmony among all communities and are keeping a watchful eye on trouble makers and on those attempting to create ethnic tension.