The Sri Lankan army declared open a Buddhist vihara that it constructed in the Tamil North-East last week, proclaimed an official military website.

Sri Lankan troops from the 661 brigade constructed the Buddhist vihara in Pooneryn (Poonakari), where Buddhist monks and soldiers held a religious ceremony at the opening on the 29 July.

“Financial contributions” from the 661 brigade and troops from other divisions were also involved in the construction, according to the Sri Lankan army.

The Federation of National Organisations (FNO), a collective of Sinhala political organisations, businesses and civil society groups based in the south, has urged Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to explain their positions on India’s plans to build a road link between Tamil Nadu and the Tamil-dominated North-East of the island.

Speaking to media at the Abayaramaya Buddhist temple, co-chairman of the group Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara called on the candidates to reveal their positions before the elections on August 17, The Island reported.

Dr Amarasekara said the proposed bridge was the “biggest challenge” Sri Lanka would face as it would “heavily damage the territorial integrity” of the island, as some powers were trying to “annex” Sri Lanka to India through the bridge.

The co-chairman warned that if the bridge was built, Sri Lanka would not be able to be considered a separate country or an island, as it would become part of India.

Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena said Sri Lanka needs to maintain the “unitary status” of the island, at the opening of a new building at a defence university on Tuesday.

"Having assessed the bitter experiences the country had to undergo in the past few decades, if Sri Lanka were to overcome future challenges, the country's unitary status needs to be maintained," said Mr Sirisena.

His comments echo recent pledges made by a range of Sinhala parties who have spoken out against devolving power to the Tamil North-East, ahead of the general election later this month.

Mr Sirisena continued to say that the “knowledge we should earn for national security is unlimited”, according to the Ministry of Defence.

“The importance of the Kotelawala Defence University is invaluable when we consider about how to cope with the invasive strategies, effects and plans of powerful countries,” added the Sri Lankan president.

The Bodu Bala Sena’s political party, the Bodu Jana Peramuna, said it is the only true saviour of Sinhala Buddhists, as the major parties, as well as members of the Buddhist clergy, have turned a ‘blind eye’ as Sinhala Buddhist rights are gradually eroded.

Speaking to media, BJP’s Colombo district candidate Anika Padmini Perera the party is only contesting the elections because of the “mounting challenges” faced by the Sinhala population.

She said those speaking for Sinhala rights have been branded racists, while Tamil political leaders “promoting separatism” received praise.

The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has called for a review of parties based on ethnic and religious lines, saying they were “inimical” to social cohesion.

The archbishop, an ethnic Sinhalese, was speaking at an event organised by the Congress of Religions, alongside members of the Buddhist clergy.

Asked by The Island whether the Congress of Religions believed that the new constitution, demanded by the cardinal, should contain provisions to deny recognition to political parties based on ethnicity and religion, Buddhist monk Dr Itthepana Dharmalankara Nayaka said he fully endorsed Mr Ranjith’s stance and that such parties should be abolished and formation of new parties prohibited.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister described plans to open up the economy to the private sector and lower taxes to raise the island’s export income and set a target of US $50 billion for the island, reports Colombo page.

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa says he will win an outright majority in the elections later this month, and is hoping to become prime minister.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sinhala service, Mr Rajapaksa said he was confident of winning more than half the seats in parliament.

"Clearly we will secure 117 seats," he told BBC Sinhala and rejected claims by the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, that the SLFP campaign was in disarray, due to the split between him and President Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr Rajapaksa challenged the government to investigate killings and abductions which occurred while he was in power, accusing the prime minister of not doing enough.