Four Sinhala organisations under the leadership of the Maha Sangha declared seven non-negotiable principles which should be taken into account in the process of Constitution making, at a largely attended mass meeting at the YMBA Borella on Thursday.

The four organisations are: The Jatika Sangha Sabha (National Council of the Sangha), the National Joint Committee, the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) and the Sinhala Veera Vidhana.

The meeting was preceded by a demonstration through Colombo streets.

The meeting was held to protest against the interference of Norway as a so-called facilitator/ mediator in the conflict between the government and the separatist LTTE terrorists.

The seven principles are the following:

1.Sri Lanka should continue to be a unitary state and the legislative supremacy of Parliament and the independence of the judiciary should be maintained.

2.The provisions in the present Constitution relating to the national flag, the national anthem and the Buddha Sasana should remain inviolate.

3.There should be no division of the country for political or administrative reasons on the basis of ethnicity. 4.Sri Lanka being the homeland of all its citizens, the claim that the North/ East is the homeland of the Tamils is rejected.

5.The 13th Amendment to the Constitution should be repealed, and all legislative action taken under it should be treated as null and void. The Provincial Councils should be abolished. The merged North/ East should be demerged. 6.Devolution of power should not be used as a means to the resolution of a non-existent ethnic problem.

7.Executive Presidency should be abolished.

The platform was occupied by respected bhikkus of repute. They were the most Ven. Agga Maha Panditha Madihe Pannaseeha Maha Nayake thera, the Supreme Maha Nayake of the Amarapura Nikaya, who presided; the Anunayake of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya, the Ven. Pandit Weligama Gnanaratana; the Ven. Aluthgama Dhammananda thero of the Karaka Sabha of the Malwatte Chapter; the Ven. Pandit Dr. Ittapana Dhammalankara thero, Secretary of the National Sangha Council and Deputy Secretary of the Kotte Sangha Sabha; the Ven. Udawatte Nanda, Secretary Kandy District Arakshaka Mandalaya; the Ven. Sobhita Nayake thera, President of the National Sangha Council.

Messages were read out from the Maha Nayakas of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters expressing their support for the meeting and associating themselves with the aims and purposes of the National Sangha Council.

Bhikku and lay speakers made fiery and passionate appeals to the people to unite against a common enemy, realise the great danger facing the country, understand the fraudulent role of Norway, the LTTE's current godfather. The present talks between the government and the opposition were condemned outright and classified as intended to appease the Tigers.

The most Ven. Madihe Pannaseeha Maha Nayake thera boldly condemned the opportunism of politicians who are selling the country to foreigners, and leading it to disaster. They are power-hungry and power drunk, he said. They listen to nobody, he commented.

He passionately urged the Sangha to move out of their temples, inform the people of the danger ahead and the critical situation in the country. We treat all communities alike and they have an equal place in this country, but we are afraid of foreigners who meddle in our internal affairs, he said.

The constitution ensures the protection of Buddhism, but who issued visas to more than seventy three Evangelist groups to unethically convert our poor, he demanded. We should start poverty alleviation programs to combat these conversions, he said.

In the manner of patriotic bhikkus of the past who stood up fearlesly, to the most adverse forces, the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha thera, a majestic figure at the podium thundered his sentiments to a hall full and overflowing into the YMBA gardens.

This is not an ethnic problem but a terrorist problem, he said. Neither the government nor the opposition can tell us what civic disabilities, discrimination, grievances the Tamils face, because they have been born Tamils, he said. The attempt to solve the so-called ethnic problem politically is based on a myth, he explained.

Norway which is a monarchy has oppressed its minorities the Lapps and the Samis. Norway is now trying to solve our minority problem. The Norwegian Foreign Minister brought a message from Anton Balasingham, the LTTE ideologue and war criminal to the President. He did not speak to the members of other communities.

In Norway, Lutheran/ Evangelism is the state religion. The King must be a Lutheran/ Evangelist and the majority of his advisers must be the same. Children are compelled to learn Norwegian. If we follow their example Buddhism will automatically become the state religion, he commented.

This is the foreign adversary who has set out to open the doors for Prabhakaran, and obtain the grant of a separate homeland for the Tamils.

It is good that the PA and the UNP are talking - if it is to correct the wrongs of 50 years. Politicisation of all institutions has led to militarisation and thuggery, he said.

The Ven. Ittapana Dhammalankara, Secretary of the Jatika Sangha Sabha reminded the gathering that the Maha Nayakes of the three Nikayas have already opposed the intervention of Norway. The people of this country are guided by them, he said. This move by Norway is a cunning and machiavellian attempt to achieve the purposes of the Tigers.

Patali Champika Ranawake the most fiery orator of the NMAT sounded a frightening warning in a stirring address. He said: If Elephant Pass is lost, all is lost. Today the powers that be are rewriting history by removing chapters from our text books. Tomorrow the LTTE will rewite our history with artillery fire.

400,000 Tamils have colonised the western province from Wattala to Mount Lavinia. Already a battle front has been opened in Colombo with the bombs and the failed ambush in Rajagiriya. Ask yourselves, he urged whether we are not on the way to total destruction. The kept press and the state electronic media is helping this process, he said.

The army is trapped in Jaffna and there is a huge offensive in the peninsula. We are at the most critical juncture in our history and our leaders are going on holidays abroad to cooler climes Mr. Ranawaka jeered. Those who help Norway in its machinations help to kill our soldiers. Norway and other western countries helped NGOs such as the Gandhian movement Sarvodaya and SEDEC to Plant 150,000 Tamils in the Wanni, making it a military and recruitment base for the LTTE.

NIPU funded again by Norway prepared the ground for the defeat in the Wanni. At seminars it told the armed forces that the war was unwinnable and demoralised the soldier in the field. Norway is fighting the psychological war of the LTTE. Norway is held responsible for that defeat, Ranawaka said.

We took three years to win control of 56 miles upto Mankulam, losing 8000 men and spending Rs. 12,000 million. The LTTE took control of the Wanni in six days. While the armed forces face this nightmare in Jaffna the UNP and the PA are muttering constitutional nothings, and partaking of tea and cakes, he said.

Ven. Athuraliya Ratana thera said that the Sangha and the laymen have raised a common voice fearlessly. The bhikkus must go out into the villages, help in the recruitment of soldiers, motivate the people and unite them to face this dark and dangerous juncture in our history.

Retired Major General Ananda Weerasekera demanded that the country be put on a war footing, fight the war according to the rules of war, adequately train our recruits and motivate, the populace, into the belief that it is fighting to save the motherland.

Back to Latest News

Home News Business DhammaWeb Info & Services Classified Search