The newly constructed Seethawaka Museum was vested with the public under the patronage of Prime Minister Dinesh Guanwardena on July 21.
The Seethawaka Museum was built in a building owned by the Department of Railway in Avissawella for Rs. 50 million by the Central Cultural Fund, with the labour of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Addressing the event, PM Dinesh Gunawardena said this museum was a place where information on natural history is handed down to future generations.
“The Kings Rajasinghe and Mayadunne of Seethawaka who defeated the Western imperialist armies that had the strength to invade the world, were the Sri Lankan leaders who challenged the world. The Dutch came to our country first. Although some of their names and surnames were taken, their language was not learnt. After that, when the Portuguese came, the language spread a bit and a few names and surnames were taken, but the language was not learnt in depth, therefore their language disappeared from Sri Lanka.
“We are proud to have defeated the first Emperor of the world. The English government came later. The Portuguese came first. Even when white people came to this country, we were a developed nation in every way. We are a developed nation even if we later surrendered. Our ancient people had taken steps to trade the country’s natural resources with the people of the world through rivers and ferries. These two war hero statesmen successfully fought for our freedom, thwarting the efforts of those who came to find them and acquired even more. Not only war heroism, but the process that entered into various fields of strategy and governance, which has not been studied yet. We did not want to do such a deep study at that time.
“Seethawaka is one of the periods that we can be proud of, in our country’s history. This museum is part of that pride. The pride of that history is now to Seethawaka Urban Council. These Professors have brought that gem of pride to you,” he added. (Newswire)
