Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Sri Lankas ultra Sinhala nationalist political party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is demanding government armed forces to demolish the holiest Christian shrine in the island.

In a media outburst of Sunday, members of the monks party said that the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is a symbol of colonialism and that it should not be given any special status.

JHU was formed in 2004 by section of Sri Lankas radical Sinhala-Buddhist monks. Campaigning on platform for creating a Sinhala only Buddhist state, the party managed to gain nine seats in the 225 strong parliament during general elections held in the same year.

Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is located in the Mannar district in the north of the island. Established by the first Tamil converts to Catholicism, some 400 years ago, the church is located in areas currently administered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Church officials are reporting increasing number shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) landing within the parameter of the historic site, and are calling for the establishment of a peace zone around the shrine.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan military says that it is determined to capture all areas, including the church, from the Tamils.

JHU activists dismissed calls by the catholic clergy for a peace zone, by accusing the Catholic Church of working with the LTTE and international powers to undermine the Sinhala Buddhist state of Sri Lanka.

The monks party is a key ally of the Rajapaksa government. JHUs leader holds a ministerial portfolio in the current administration.