The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) has urged all Tamil members of the National Peoples’ Power (NPP), including Trincomalee MP and Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra, to resign immediately over the government’s response to the recent controversy involving a Buddha statue in Trincomalee.
A tense situation was reported yesterday after a group attempted to place a Buddha statue at a Dhamma school in a temple in the area. Police were deployed to control the situation, after which the statue was removed from the site.
Addressing Parliament today, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala stated that the statue had been removed due to information about possible vandalism. He added that steps were being taken to place the statue at the Dhamma school today and that special police protection would be provided to ensure its safety.
Responding to the minister’s remarks, ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran accused the government and Minister Ananda Wijepala of succumbing to undue pressure from majoritarian forces.
“Last night, when the Police removed the illegally installed statue on the Trincomalee beach on the orders of the Minister, some people actually thought that the government was acting properly without any racist mindset. Alas! That was short-lived as the Minister demonstrated in Parliament that this government’s feet are also made of clay,” the former MP said in a statement on ‘X’.
Sumanthiran further noted that the government’s rhetoric about treating all people equally collapsed when the Minister “unashamedly” announced in Parliament that the statue had been removed due to security concerns and would be reinstalled today.
“The NPP government stands exposed as a racist, Sinhala Buddhist nationalist force, no different to any other government in the past. All Tamil members of the NPP, including Trincomalee MP and deputy minister @arunhema19, must resign forthwith,” he added.
