Removing the statue of Our Lady of Madhu to a location deep in LTTE held area while the government had, with all responsibility, offered to ensure its safety and security if brought to a government held area, gives cause for suspicion whether this the result of an LTTE move to mislead the international community and embarrass the security forces and the government, said Defence spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella addressing media in Colombo today (April 17).

He said the Security Forces did not remove the statue when they liberated the area including the Madhu shrine in 1999, and there had been no question raised then about having to remove the statue to any other location.

At present the security forces had liberated the areas north, south and east of the Madhu shrine, but had not entered the western area because of the presence of the shrine that is considered sacred property. However, the clergy had now removed the statue to another church 70 km away in uncleared area held by the LTTE.

The government regrets the removal of the statue to such a location, at a time when the security forces were engaged in a humanitarian operation. This gave cause for some doubt whether this a move that suited the aims of the LTTE to draw the attention of the international community about the insecurity of the statue that would embarrass both the government and the security forces, the Minister said.

He added that the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Madhu was a national treasure that is held in high esteem by people of all communities of Sri Lanka and it was the responsibility of all to ensure its safety.