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December, 26, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) News reaching from Colombo state the government has let loose a campaign of celebrations on its anticipated victory against the LTTE.

Banners hailing Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse as a hero have been strung at several locations by the government backed Federation of Sinhala Buddhist associations.

Whilst this banner campaign got underway, the pro-government campaigners had gone further by provocatively erecting a small Buddha statue in Colombo 4 (Bambalapitiya) at the top of Lawrence Road adjoining the Wellawatte Pillaiyar temple. An oil lamp has also been kept alight in front of it. When inquiries were made with the concerned public, they confirmed they are alarmed by the sudden emergence of the Buddha statue. They firmly said it has been placed with the connivance of the authorities by the taxi drivers.

One visitor to the Hindu temple said, `it is a provocative act, considering the prevailing climate of Sinhala-Buddhist triumphalism in their anticipated victories against the LTTE`. He further said `the place selected is an area where very high concentrations of Tamils are living and well known Tamil and Hindu cultural centers are functioning`.

Lawrence Road in Colombo 4 is not only houses the Pillaiyar temple, but also leads to Saraswathy Hall, the Bambalapitiya Hindu College and the Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College. The government campaigners have selected the place to install a Buddhist shrine without the local authority approval or government level official sanction in a cavalier and provocative manner to create tensions within the communities.

The people are waiting to see how the President is going to respond to this deliberate and provocative act of his brother Gothabaya Rajapakse.

The site selected by the Defense Secretary`s campaigners at Lawrence Road is at the major approaches to the residence of the government minister Douglas Devananda on Skinners Road.

A resident at the Bambalapitiya flats in anonymity said, `Everything put together, it appears the war against the LTTE is being transformed into a Sinhala-Buddhist crusade by this government to maintain its tenuous hold on power`.