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Sri Lankan president discusses reconstructing Buddhist 'sacred city' in East

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena held a discussion with Buddhist monks and other politicians regarding the reconstruction of a Buddhist 'sacred city' in the East on Tuesday.

Meeting with a member of parliament from Amparai and the director general of archaeology, alongside religious leaders, Mr Sirisena emphasised the importance of conserving archaeological sites across the island.

Since Mr Sirisena came into power earlier this year, the Sri Lankan government has continued to authorise the building of Buddhist temples in the Tamil North-East.

See our earlier posts:

Sri Lankan military continues to build Buddhist temples in North-East (10 Jun 2015)

Sri Lankan army opens Buddhist temple in North-East (07 Aug 2015)

Previously the government had 'discovered' Buddhist sites across the North-East. In 2010, after a flood of government archaeologists ‘discovering’ Buddhist sites in the North, Peram Kana wrote this.

“Ever heard of 'archaeology' being the first priority in a conquered territory? If you have not heard of such a practice, then you don't know the Sri Lanka state.”

See more here.

Army ‘discovers’ Buddhist archaeological site in North (06 Jun 2014)

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