Plans are underway to construct a 61 foot tall statue of the Buddha in Nainativu, said Northern Provincial Councillors Vinthan Kanagaratnam and Balachandran Gajatheepan in an interview to TamilNet this week.
Following a fact finding mission to the islet, which has been the site of reported rapid Sinhalisation, the councillors stated that they were under pressure from the Sri Lankan navy to welcome plans for the construction of the statue.
The Sri Lankan navy took part in a Buddhist ceremony in Nainativu in November, where the Commander of the Navy laid the foundation stone for the new statue of the Buddha to be built. The Northern Provincial Council also passed a resolution last year demanding the revocation of the change in name of the island Nainativu to the Sinhala name, Nagapattina.
The councillors said the issue would be raised this week in a meeting of the Northern Provincial Council.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
