By Walter Jayawardhana

The most venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero, Mahanayaka of the Malwatte Chapter of the Siamese sect visited the IDP Welfare Center in Settikulam in Northern Sri Lanka, Friday July 10 and assured the inmates that they will be resettled in their original villages as soon as possible.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Mahanayaka of Malwatte, is the chief monk of the largest Buddhist denomination in Sri Lanka and his visit , a first for some one who has held this office, is considered to be a historical one.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He intimated to the Tamil civilians , who were displaced by the recent war by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) the determination of the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s President to resettle them, in their original villages, as soon as they have been made safe for the civilians . It is believed thousands of land mines have been buried in their settlements as well as in their rice fields.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Mahanayaka of Malwatte said much work is left to be carried out by the security forces to make the villages suitable for normal life and praised the tremendous work carried out by the Defence Secretary and the armed forces to save the lives of the civilians.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He distributed gifts to be distributed among the IDPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s and participated in a Hindu service at the nearby Kovil. He also gave gifts to the Hindu priests.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ While the most venerable Maha Nayaka of Malwatte reassured the Tamil civilians that all of them will be resettled in their original villages Opposition parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told London Timesthat the government will settle Sinhalese in those areas and topple ethnic balance.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He was quoted having told the London Times, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-There are allegations that the Government is attempting to change the ethnic balance of the area.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ But he did not substantiate the statement.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Government sources said, Samaraweera , who is aligned with the Opposition UNP , wants to sabotage foreign aid for the IDPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s by making these irresponsible statements