"I do not want to be a cardboard hero - Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist country but a Sri Lankan country" - Mangala Samaraweera

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera states that Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist country but a country of Sri Lankans. The minister made these comments addressing a meeting with party representatives of Local Government bodies in Matara.

"If I could, if I wanted to be some kind of cardboard hero, say that ... Sri Lanka is a country of the Sinhala Buddhists. Therefore, it is because you can not live your own way. I say that Sri Lanka is not a country of Sinhala Buddhists. The majority of the country's Lankans are Sinhala Buddhists. We have become a majority because we can not put our opinion on a knife.

The minister explained the impact of the tourism industry on the eve of the terrorist attack on the Easter. The Minister expressed this view in this regard.

"But it was a good time for the tourists not to be over the years, and we are now ready to launch a program to attract tourists to Sri Lanka in the next six months to seven months.