The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said there is no room for extremism in the country and any attempt to promote extremism will be thwarted.

Government spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that a small group of people were attempting to promote extremism in Sri Lanka.

"Whoever the extremists are they are a threat to national reconciliation. We see one group shouting from one end and another shouting from the other end. They don't want to reach a middle ground," the minister noted.

Recently a group of Buddhist monks stormed the venue of a media conference and hurled abuse at another monk and a Muslim cleric who were attempting to speak on behalf of some people living inside a national park.

The monks affiliated to the Bodu Bala Sena alleged that some displaced Muslims are being resettled at a national wildlife park illegally.

Later the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a political party affiliated to the government had called for an operation to remove Muslim extremists in the country in light of what the party says is an attempt to deceive the government and grab land in the national park.

Rambukwella said that the government respects the views of the JHU as an alliance member of the ruling party but hopes the JHU will act in the best interest of the country.

The minister said that while the extremist groups operating in Sri Lanka are only a handful they can still set the country on fire and that should not be allowed to happen.

He also said that ordinary people, be it Muslims or Buddhists, should not be seen as extremists and the need of the hour was to deal with the real extremists. (Xinhua)