6th April 2010, 09:06 PM
Sri Lanka: Archaeology sparks new conflict
So how bad can it get!
ah... forget I spoke.. Archaeology has to be an issue... it has to poke its head up... not say sorry.. not say excuse me and be proud enough to say... OI you... this is important.
So how bad can it get!
Quote:The JHU invoked the same argument in December when it presented 29 demands to Mr Rajapaksa, including one for him to rebuild dozens of Buddhist sites in the north. His response has never been made public but the JHU ? which is led by a passionate amateur archaeologist ? claims that the President concurred.
?He agreed to take immediate steps to restore Buddhist sites in the north,? Udaya Gammanpila, a senior JHU member, said. ?He said the army and the archaeological department were already working on it.?
Even if that is untrue, the JHU can directly influence archaeology because Champika Ranawaka, its chief ideologue, is Environment Minister and his approval is required to excavate and protect sites.
Foreign archaeologists familiar with Sri Lanka say that the country ? which is approximately 70 per cent Sinhalese and 20 per cent Tamil ? needs to move past the ethnic issue.
?That debate will never be answered by archaeology,? Robin Coningham, a professor of archaeology at Durham University, said.
ah... forget I spoke.. Archaeology has to be an issue... it has to poke its head up... not say sorry.. not say excuse me and be proud enough to say... OI you... this is important.