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| Mervyn Silva ceremoniously hands over rations to a Sinhala family of 8 children. Photograph DailyMirror |
The Sri Lankan government’s Public Relations Minister, Mervyn Silva, called on Sinhalese families to stop family planning and "have any number of children", claiming it was only Sinhala people that were told to restrict their families, the Daily Mirror reported.
"While families of other communities consist of several children, the Sinhala people are told to limit the number of children," the minister was quoted as saying. "Have any number of children, I will help you if you find it difficult to maintain your children."
Speaking at a ceremony, where he handed over rations to a Sinhala family of eight children residing in Dompe, in the island's south, the minister recalled what he described as the 'times of the kings', when he asserted 'no one was asked to restrict the number of children nor taught family planning'.
'Most families consisted of several children; some even a dozen,' he stressed.
Minister Mervyn Silva's comments however come amidst persistent reports of Tamil women in the North-East being coerced into using long-acting contraceptive methods.
An investigative report by Jaffna based organisation, The Social Architects (TSA), published at the end of last year, confirmed that public health officials committed serious violations of women’s rights to informed consent, reproductive autonomy and health.