"This is a direct attack on the heart of Buddhism. We cannot merely repair the damage to this most sacred shrine," said Maduluwawe Sobhita, a monk. Analysts are worried about a Sinhala backlash against the Tamils. The LTTE appears to be keen on precipitating another round of ethnic bloddletting. It would be recalled that the present ethnic conflict in the country took off after the 1983 clashes in which Tamils suffered the worst.
Kandy Mayor Harindhanath Dhunuwila told Reuters that damage to the temple was extensive and it was unlikely it could be repaired in time for the celebrations. "The feeling is one of outrage. We see it as an attempt to disrupt the celebrations and provoke a backlash. We have to be careful how we tackle the situation," Dhunuwila said.
According to one report, Buddhist groups blamed Britain for the Tamil Tiger rebel bomb attack on Sri Lanka`s holiest shrine, while hundreds of monks marched through the streets of Colombo to condemn the blast. "We hold the British government responsible for the latest unfortunate incident," Gallege Punyawardana, secretary of the Federation of Buddhist Organisations, told a news conference. Punyawardana said history showed how Sri Lanka`s minority Tamil community had made their way from southern India and allowed to live in eastern areas of the countries by the British colonial masters. "The Tamils fought along with their English masters against the Sri Lankans. They are the originators of our problem," Punyawardana said. "How can Sri Lanka honourably entertain Prince Charles?" said Punyawardana. The federation had earlier demanded an apology from Britain`s royal family for the killing of hundreds of Sri Lanka during Britain`s 152-year rule.
All major governments, including that of India, have condemned the blast. Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned bomb explosion at the Dalada Maligawa, saying they were"concerned that the attack flouts the principle of distinction set out in international humanitarian standards which govern the conduct of hostilities. According to this principle, armed forces of all sides to a conflict must at all times distinguish between civilian and military targets and must not target civilians".
On the late evening of 26 January 1998, the Sri Lankan Government finally outlawed the LTTE with immediate effect. Although no formal communique was issued, a high-ranking military official confirmed the ban. The State-controlled media, in its Tamil and Sinhala bulletins, first broke the news. India and Malaysia banned the LTTE several years ago, while the United States recently designated it as an international terrorist organisation. Successive Sri Lankan Governments have resisted the temptation to ban the LTTE on the ground that parleys eventually needed to be held with the Tigers for a final settlement of the ethnic war.
The ban on the LTTE has dismayed many Tamils because it now seems that the government has effectively slmmed the door on negotiations and this move will be a signal to the LTTE to keep on fighting. Residents of Jaffna believe that the move has dashed all hopes of negotiating an end to the 14-year ethnic war.