The Cultural Affairs Minister TB Ekanayake has said the government is looking at moving the British Garrison Cemetery in Kandy, as it is located at a higher elevation than the Temple of the Tooth.
The minister said it is an insult to the tooth artefact, believed by Buddhists to be Buddha’s actual tooth, for a cemetery to be on the land of the temple and it was the government’s responsibility to keep it as an area of purity and sanctity.
The cemetery is currently maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the minister has said he already held discussions with British High Commission officials.
Over 150 British nationals have been buried in the cemetery since its founding in 1817.