Sri Lanka is Sinhala Country, Buddhism is its Official Religion.

Mihintale where Venerable Arihath Mahinda met King Devenapetissa

France is the country of the French, England the country of the English . Italy the country of the Italians and Germany the country of the Germans, India   the  country of the Indians, and Sri Lanka  the country of the Sinhala etc.

One cannot say the same about USA as the Original Americans  the Cherokee, Chippewa, Sioux,  Cheyenne, Comanche, Navajos, Apaches etc were chased away or decimated-  a genocide of the native Americans,  and  if one were to  read the history of America one would see that even  their history has been deprived to them. The Immigrant Europeans who came to America in 1620 and after, occupied the  land of the Indians to became the majority . Now with a  Constitution ratified in 1788 the European Immigrants have become the people of the  United States- the Americans. But now it is the country of the Americans.

France has its national flag, its national anthem, and its own language recognised as such in the French Constitutions, so has  England, Italy, Germany, even United States and others.  Each of these countries recognise the religion of the majority as the national religion, which is also Constitutionally protected. Nevertheless, its  citizens have  the freedom to practice a religion of their choice.  In  France  it was obligatory that even the names given to the children had to be taken from the calendar which had a name of a Christian Saint for each day. Now this practice has changed.

No country go by the minorities and do not share the country with different ethnic groups as separate communities. In France  too there were groups in Corse, Basque, Normandie, Alsace calling for  independence.  But they  never  overstepped the boundaries of French  nationalism.

These developed countries like USA and the countries of Europe do not allow political parties promoting minorities. In France there are Greeks, Italians, Russians, Algerians but they become members of  French National political parties and have no political parties by racial and religious denominations. If Barack Obama contested US Presidency from an Afro American Political Party he would have never been the President of United States. In Canada the Tamils who have accepted Canadian nationality have become members of Canadian Parliament.

The minorities become a part of the majority so to say in a country and are recognised as nationals of that country. Thereafter they respect the Constitution of that country and do not seek independence as separate ethnic groups.

Should not that be the norm every where including Sri Lanka ?

The Government of Australia told Muslims, “….Basically, people who don’t want to be Australians, and they don’t want to live by Australian values and understand them , well then they can basically clear off .”

In France before a citizenship is granted,  the applicant has to show that he is proficient  French.  Otherwise the applicant will have to learn to speak French before applying again for citizenship. It is the same in other European countries, and USA as well.

Sri Lanka is also a Sovereign State like France, Italy, Germany, United States and others.  Therefore it cannot be different. Sri Lanka is the country of the  Sinhala. The religion of the majority  Buddhism is Constitutionally protected.  Sri Lanka has its National flag, its National anthem sung in the language of the majority Sinhala.( though the people who did not  understand how to reconcile the Communities allowed it to be sung in Tamil)  Sri Lanka should recognise Sinhala as the national Language  and allow Tamil as a provincial language.

Sri Lanka had made the mistake since independence, forced by Tamil politicians,   to recognise minorities as separate communities.  They should not have given into Ponnambalam’s fifty fifty or Chelvanayagam’s demand for a Tamil Eelam and recognised Tamil Language along with Sinhala, and mutilate the National flag by adding a green and an orange stripe to represent the minorities. Unfortunately Sri Lanka is  continuing to sacrifice lot of  identifiable  national sovereign rights for one purpose of pacifying the minorities. 

Reconciliation is not giving parts of the country to minorities to set up Communal provincial areas or devolve political rights that belong to the government.  At least now Sri Lanka has to stop being a country making sacrifices to reconcile with the minorities and stand firm to maintain its right as a sovereign State with its identifiable national rights and symbols.

It is the Tamils and Muslims who should recognise Sri Lanka as the Sinhala country and accept to live with the citizens of Sri Lanka as national entities.  The Tamils and Muslims have no right to claim provinces to be administered by themselves ,but help  build Sri Lanka as a unitary state which is the motherland of everyone living in it.

Sri Lanka Government should  recognise as an offence punishable for high treason,  any one demanding separation or asking special rights for  minority communities.  It is not the minority communities that have the right to decide on how  security of  the country and to the people should be maintained.

Sri Lanka should strengthen security by setting up military camps every where in Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka should be put on a military footing as long as the Tamils demand separationist political solutions.  The government  should abolish all political parties  representing  minority Communities or religions of minorities. 

Everyone who speaks for separation of communities in Sri Lanka should be arrested and imprisoned. No body should be allowed to make public statements  promoting minority communal rights.  Wigneshawaran, Sampanthan and the members of the TNA, Anandasangaree, and Muslim politicians such as Rauf Hakeem, Rashid Badiudin should be arrested and imprisoned if they continue their racist demands for separation.

Sri Lanka has three main Communities, the Sinhala , Tamil and Muslim. They represent Sri Lanka having Sinhala Nationality.  All Communities make up the Sinhala Nation.  All Communities should be proficient in Sinhala language.  But they should have the right to profess  any  religion or belief system.  Those who have another religious belief other than Buddhism should respect the National religion which is Buddhism.

In recent time the Tamils of the diaspora had begun rewriting the history of Sri Lanka.  In the Wikipedia in internet there are several diversification  or interpolation of the National history of Sri Lanka discrediting  its history and accepted historical documents such as the Mahavamsa.

Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by Venerable Arahath Mahhinda Thero during the rein of King Devanampiyatissa in the third century before the current era. Then Sri Lanka was occupied by Sinhala people from north to South and East to West.  There are no historical remains to show Hinduism had existed in Sri Lanka before the arrival of Venerable Arahath Mahinda Thero. 

There may have been Tamil incursions for plunder and theft, but that does no give credit to the fact that there were Tamils in Sri Lanka or Hinduism existed before the advent of Venerable Arahat Mahinda thero. 

Hinduism had different divisions and before Hinduism there was Vedantism, and Jainism.  Therefore it is not possible even to say which existed in Sri Lanka and before which.  However, it is possible that Hinduism in some form or other existed in Sri Lanka before Chritianity and Islam. There were Indian ambassadors, and Hindu Sages in the courts of the Sinhala Kings. Later  there was a Tamil King who ruled in Anuradhapura from 205 to161before current era.

Christianity came to Sri Lanka in the first century of the present era- 72 AD.  Muslims were sea traders who often landed in Sri Lanka to buy or sell merchandise. The Portuguese, when they started using the seas around India and Sri Lanka chased away the Muslim traders.  The Muslims traders thus chased by the Portuguese came to Sinhala Kings and asked for protection. They were settled in the east and allowed to marry local women. That was in around 12^th century.

Recognising provinces as Tamil or Muslim,  devolution of political power, giving police and land rights are not how real reconciliation of communities should be done.  These are only political manoeuvres to satisfy some Tamil and Muslim politicians.  Reconciliation should be for the welfare of the people of all communities sharing same rights and live as brothers and sisters of the  same country –the country of the Sinhala.  Reconciliation should not be  just to satisfy the Tamil and Muslim politicians.

It is  very important  for the people to understand what is really meant in the statement in the preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO:

 “..Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. ”

Do the Tamil and Muslim politicians of Sri Lanka understand the deep sense in this simple phrase ? If they have understood its meaning  they will not be calling for separation as means of reconciliation. This phrase should open the minds closed with hatred, desire for power, racial pride, and meaningless desire not to be second to  the other. Because its larger meaning is to be human to stretch one’s arms to clasp the other as an equal. It is to build a nation together which would be the real reconciliation amoung human beings.

To be  a human being  is above  being closed up in  prisons of Communality. To be a human being is greater than being a Sinhala, Tamil or Buddhist.

The phrase in the preamble to the constitution of UNESCO should also be a lesson to the Western political agents like John Kelly,  Hugo Swire coming from UK, and others from Netherland , Germany and France  etc, who come to Sri Lanka to talk about reconciliation with the minorities.

Is it the religion of the Tamils and Muslims that make them racial and hateful ?

The Sinhala, Tamils and Muslims have lived together for generations in Sri Lanka  without major social problems ,  why is it now that they want  separation as a means of reconciliation after having suffered  under an unwanted  terrorism ?  

This idea of reconciliation according to Wigneshawaran, Sampanthan and  the TNA,  Anandasangaree, and the Muslim Rishad Badiudin who vandalises Sri Lanka forest reserves to find settlements for Muslims, and Rauf Hakeem  who demands a separate province for Muslims, should look inside into their own minds to intellectually understand  that meaningful  reconciliation cannot come about from outside but from inside. 

Once mentally the problem of separation as a means of reconciliation is understood as a problem arising within oneself,  it is thereafter through friendly dialogue and the willingness to cohabit together as citizens of one unitary State, that answers could be found for reconciliation to  make Sri Lankans a happy nation living together in peace and security.

Therefore accept Sri Lanka as  a nation of Sinhala. The Sinhala, the Tamils and the Muslims are all a part of that one nation.  Let us salute the flag of our country and  Sing the National anthem together in Sinhala and let us profess our religion according to our choice freely without being a  cause of harassment or a disturbance to others.

Excerpt from: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/australia.asp