Trinco district secretariat conference hall opened

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 16:03 GMT]
Mr.Pandu Bandaranayake, Deputy Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs declared open the new conference hall built at a cost of 12.7 million rupees in the Trincomalee District Secretariat built inside the Fort Frederick in the east port town last weekend. The District Secretariat has been functioning in a two-century-old building constructed during the British rule. The conference hall is the first new building constructed in the District Secretariat premises after about two hundred years, said Mr.Gamini Rodrigo, Government Agent and District Secretary at the opening event, sources said.

Mr.Pandu Bandaranaike and Mr.Sampanthan after unveiling the tablet of the new conference hall

Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district parliamentarian participated in the opening event of the new conference hall.

Mr.Pandu Bandaranaike is the son of Mr.S.D.Bandaranayake who represented Gampaha district in parliament during late Prime Minister Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike rule.

Mr.Sampanthan speaking at the event recalled the decisive move by Mr.S.D.Bandaranayake when he successfully stopped the foot march of late President Mr.J.R.Jayawardene from Colombo to Kandy demanding the abrogation of Bandaranaike- Chelvanayakam Pact (BC) signed by late Sinhala leader Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike and late Tamil leader Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam in 1957 in an attempt to find political solution to the Tamil national question. Thereafter due to pressure by Buddhist monks Mr.Bandaranaike abrogated the BC pact, failing to use the opportunity to resolve the ethnic crisis, Mr.Sampanthan said.

Sri Lanka would have likely achieved permanent peace and economic stability if the Sinhala political leaders allowed the implementation of the B-C Pact in 1957, Mr.Sampanthan said.

Mr.Pandu Bandaranayake endorsed Mr.Sampanthan's view that the implementation of the BC pact in 1957 would have saved Sri Lanka from ethnic war and current economic disaster.

Mr.S.Rangarajah, Chief Secretary of the North East Provincial Council (NEPC), Mr.M.K.A.de.S.Gunawardene, and former Trincomalee district parliamentarian also spoke.

Mr. Gamini Rodrigo is the 29th Government Agent and 72nd Administrator since the introduction of civil administration in the Trincomalee district when Ceylon was under British rule and after it gained independence.

Although majority of the population in the Trincomalee district is Tamil speaking during the British rule and even after the island gained independence, no Tamil has been appointed as a Government Agent or Administrator, civil sources said.