Not a single square inch of Sri Lanka belongs to any particular religion, caste or race, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a press briefing today. The Minister said this in reply to a question posed by a journalist regarding the statement made by the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith at the LLRC yesterday.

BBC earlier reported that Cardinal Ranjith had made a statement to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission that attempts were being made to change the demographic make-up of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, which currently have an ethnic Tamil majority.

“This could be a dangerous trend if it is not arrested; unless people are allowed to move in and move out in a proper way without any colonisation as such, with or without government approval.

“Because what can happen is that there can be a kind of psychosis of fear about a cultural invasion of villages and areas of the country considered to be predominantly of one group or the other. This can cause friction and unnecessary clashes.” BBC states.

Replying to this statement Minister Rambukwella said that the land of the country belongs to everyone regardless of cast or creed.  How that land should be used is the prerogative of the democratically elected government. This government does not follow the policy that there should be a certain demographic makeup in different parts of the island. We don’t believe that certain parts of the country should be excluded to certain races or religions, He added.

He added that it is because of this strong policy that this government launched the war to liberate the whole island.