Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="rapa" data-source="post: 116453" data-attributes="member: 212">By Kelum Bandara and Yohan PereraSri Lanka is fast heading towards the status of a 'failed nation', Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike said in Parliament yesterday.Speaking during the fifth day of the Budget debate, Mr. Bandaranaike said it was the stark reality whatever anyone might say.He said all of them shared a blame for it with not a few leading politicians on both sides of the divide."I am sure President Mahinda Rakapaksa will not fail this nation," he said. The minister said a solution to the ethnic conflict was absolutely essential for any development."If war continues, there will be no investment or tourism," he said. He said the maximum devolution of power within a united Sri Lanka is the only way out of this problem as perfectly outlined by India as well."I am happy that opposition parties are now veering to the possibility of maximum power devolution," he said. He said Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon who is due here today or tomorrow would carry a message on the importance of resuming talks to solve the problem."We should not forget that there are 70 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu," he said.He said therefore, the Indian Government should be conscious of the DMK which represents those Tamils as otherwise the Congress Government would suffer."If the DMK walks out, the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh will collapse," he said. Contd on A4He said he loves India very much given the humanity of its people such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Mathama Gandhi and others."War is not the solution to this problem. We must seize the opportunity to solve it. Every citizen in this country must feel wanted so that they will not resort to acts of terrorism" he said.Commenting on the tourism industry, the minister said this sector had been affected adversely due to travel advisories issued by some countries such as Australia, France, Italy and the Netherlands which condemned Sri Lanka to the devil.He said France had advised its citizens to avoid non-essential visits to Sri Lanka."Only the United Kingdom has not taken a hard position on this matter," he said.He said the BBC carried a news item shortly after the attack on the Galle Naval base, referring it to Galle as the country's tourist hub.Mr. Bandaranaike said this publicity made a major impact on the tourist industry.He said the LTTE did not target foreign tourists at large during the last two decades of war and it was the only argument he could raise before such countries.Referring to the judiciary, he said it should be totally independent."The judiciary should not be the fiefdom of any single person," he said.The Tourism Minister also stressed the need to wipe out the killing spree in the country along with the crime wave which have claimed the lives of many persons.He said independent inquiries should be conducted into the killing of Mr. Raviraj, which he said was a most unfortunate one.</blockquote>

Verification: Winadiyakata thappara keeyak tibeda?

Top Bottom