My life is under threat-Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera
Posted on May 27th, 2017

BY PANCHAMEE HEWAVISSENTI Courtesy Ceylon Today

In an interview with Ceylon Today, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara said several recent incidents have compelled him to live in hiding as there is an attempt to assassinate him after arrest. The Thera further said he had to keep changing his hideouts for the protection of his life as he has hardly any faith in the government to protect his life. “Several unidentified people were loitering around my temple in Rajagiriya a couple of days ago. On inquiry, they replied that they were on a mission to apprehend narcotic dealers who were passing by the temple. I have been surreptitiously observing them for over an hour, but they did not seem to stop any vehicle passing along the road. I observed them looking around the neighbourhood of the temple,” he said. He further said he could sense danger in the manner they behaved and he immediately left the temple and is in hiding at present.

Commenting on the destruction of Buddhist archaeological sites by Muslim settlers in areas which were widely spoken about in Parliament this week, he said Muslims hardly possess any cultural or archaeological values and they attempt to deprive other communities of their lofty traditions out of malice. The Thera also mentioned that Buddhists and Hindus are being converted to Islam by offering financial support, marriage and various other material benefits. He reiterated during the interview that BBS has no malice against Hindus. “Buddhists and Hindus are culturally interrelated and both religions share similar values. When Hindus face injustice, BBS is prepared to speak for them,” he said. The Thera added that BBS has no animosity towards Muslims who moderately practice their religion and those people are in fact not harmful to the coexistence at all. “We are against Muslim extremists who spread Wahabism which is the greatest threat to the existence of non-Islam believers,” the Thera said.
Excerpts:

?Your presence was not felt until recently after the change of government. What made you make a sudden comeback?

A: This is not an abrupt comeback. I have been engaging in various endeavours overseas such as in Japan and Korea. I spent a limited time in Sri Lanka and that may be why my presence was not felt in a strong manner as today. Although we remained active and continued to reveal the injustice faced by the majority ethnic community, some media organizations did not support us merely out of malice. When an arrest warrant was issued, they exaggerated the news. They also continue to condemn the BBS in a malignant manner as in the past.

We met President Maithripala Sirisena on several occasions. We discussed in details the destruction of archaeological sites, deforestation at Wilpattu and setting up of illicit Muslim territories, drug and the human trafficking taking place via the settlements in Wilpattu. Unfortunately, the government failed to take action against culprits. Muslim extremism has crept into the administration. The so-called Sinhala Buddhist rulers act according to the whims and fancies of Islam extremists who spread Wahabism. Extremist Muslim politicos in the government are extremely powerful. When the misdeeds of Muslim extremists began to escalate, we too had to rise against them. One may refer to this situation as an abrupt comeback. In fact, we abruptly reacted to the escalating injustice faced by Sinhala Buddhists.

?It was clear that the former regime did not curb BBS and allowed it to function on its own. Why does the government attempt to suppress BBS? Is it due to political animosity because BBS is supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa?

A: I do not agree with it. Repressive measures were applied even by the former regime. Former government plotted to apprehend the Chief Executive Officer of BBS Dilanthe Withanage. It even attempted to ban BBS.

Extremist Muslims were active in the Rajapaksa regime as well. Yet, they were not as powerful as they are today. That is why the repressive measures applied by the government on BBS appear to be severe in comparison to those of the former regime.

?If you are apprehended or surrender to the Police, do you suspect of any plot to assassinate you in the manner that of the underworld figure Samayan was killed?

A: I dare claim that I have no faults. While the Police have fabricated allegations against me for my arrest, various politicos such as C.V. Wigneswaran, Sivajilingam, Vijeyakala Maheswaran, Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, Azath Salley and the Eastern Provincial councillor Shibly are plotting against me. I dare say the law of the country is partial. It shows the ulterior motives behind the moves to apprehend me. Muslim extremist politicos want to silence me so that they could implement the agenda of Arabian countries to convert Sri Lanka into a Muslim country.

If you take recent incidents, underworld gangsters were killed by the goons clad in Police uniform and Police Officers were killed by drug dealers. How can you provide security to my life? There is a clear threat to my life. President Sirisena was informed by a person in March about an attempt to assassinate me and to create unrest in the country with the intention of destabilizing the government. The person further alleged that some Police Officers might be involved in the plot to assassinate me. When the Police wanted to arrest me at Kurunegala, they did not have a warrant or a valid reason to do so. Moreover, some of the Police Officers were drunk at the time. The arrest warrant was issued on 25 May 2017 stating the reasons. They tried to arrest me in a Muslim area. It aroused my suspicions that they could be killers posing as Police Officers. There have been many political conspiracies and assassinations in this country. Therefore, I believe that there is a plot to assassinate me after apprehending.

?Your contentious remarks against minority communities propelled the idea that you want to be a martyr. Isn’t your hiding contrary to your aggressive behaviour?

A: I dare to be a martyr, but this situation is akin to State terrorism. Muslim extremists in the country have become extremely powerful with the unconditional backing of the government. Muslim extremists were instrumental in bringing the government to power to serve their selfish aims. They are in dire need of getting rid of me. Should I allow that to happen? Although I’m not scared of facing death, I do not want to become a victim of Islamic terrorism.

As a Bhikkhu I strongly believe that I have not committed sins even in my previous births. Those merits will protect me from dangers.

?Do you perceive that Sri Lanka needs a separate court system (Sanghadhikarana) to deal with cases pertaining to Bhikkhus as it is unethical to arrest a Bhikkhu by lay people?

A: Where does it state in the law that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist state? Although Sri Lanka should be one, it is not. I do not think the rulers of this country will think of forming a Sanghadhikarana. It is in fact vital to set up a Sanghadhikarana and appoint a Sanga Raja (Head of the Buddhist monks’ judiciary system) to solve the disciplinary matters pertaining to Bhikkhus.

?You are alleged to have been maintaining links with the Norwegian government. BBS is alleged to be funded by Norway to trigger communal violence in the country. Can you refute such allegations?

A: Yes, I can. Could you cite any instance where the Norwegian Government has funded any Buddhist organization? Sri Lanka is famous for bringing baseless allegations against opponents. People of this country are carried away by rumours easily. Even the leaders are of that nature. This is a rumour created by a group in the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime to tarnish the BBS image. Their intention was to keep people away from BBS and to deprive us of their support.

Has anyone been able to prove the allegation that BBS is funded by the Norwegian Government?

?BBS has alleged that Arab countries are on a mission to make Sri Lanka an Islamic State and Sri Lankan politicians have been beguiled by Muslim politicos to make that happen. Is that true?

A: According to Islam, there is no God other than Allah. The extremists who follow the teachings of the Quran are on a mission to convert the entire world to Islam. It is said the Jihad battle will not be given up until the entire world becomes Muslim. Sri Lanka has already become a victim of that Islamic extremism.

Unfortunately, leaders of this country are reluctant to admit it. BBS warned that there are ISIS members in Sri Lanka. And it has been proved. An ordinary school principal in a rural area who appeared to live in harmony with other communities became an ISIS terrorist and got killed in Syria. When we warned of this, the authorities laughed at us. We keep on enlightening the government of the acts of Islamic extremists, but it turns a deaf ear. Moreover, we came to know that ISIS terrorists received salaries from Ulama organization in Sri Lanka. They had studied Sharia Law in Pakistan. Today Sri Lanka has become an academic centre to teach Sharia Law. There is a university being set up in the Eastern Province that provides free education on Sharia Law. Sri Lanka has become a safe haven for international Islamic terrorists to get military training due to the slack nature of the immigration process.

During Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government in 2002, the President’s Commission Report clearly mentioned that Sri Lanka is slowly becoming a victim of world Islamic invasion. Fifteen years have elapsed and we can clearly see the accuracy of that statement. Muslim population is expanding. Foreign Muslims are being settled down in the Wilpattu area. Hindus, Christians and Buddhists are being converted to Islam.

This government was elected with the political support of ISIS. If the government is an elephant the spear that control and frighten it is akin to extremist Muslim politicos. Hence, it is apparent that Sri Lanka is slowly becoming an Islamic State. I can predict that in another 15 years, Muslim extremists will start a war in the country and that will be worse than the one we fought against the LTTE. Islamic extremists will fight in a clandestine manner so that no one in the country will know that they have become victims. I claim that Islamic extremism is far more terrorizing than the LTTE.

As I said, Muslim politicos work according to Islamic Fundamentalism which is called Wahabism. That is why Azath Salley says he will form a Jihad terrorist group to kill me and the Eastern Provincial Councillor threatens that there will be a bloodbath in Sri Lanka. Countries that accommodated Muslim minorities in the past have today become Islamic States. That is how they grow.

?BBS often speaks about Wahabism. What does that mean? It is difficult for lay people to understand that word?

A: The pernicious side of Wahabism cannot be elucidated in a brief interview like this. The word is often used by BBS. I may provide you with a very brief account of Wahabism. Wahabists are the extremist and fundamentalist Muslims. They follow the austere form of Quran and claim that whoever does not submit to the will of Allah, should be killed. If I am to quote the Quran;
(2:191-193) “And kill them wherever you find them…,. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing…,. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone…
ISIS is completely based on Wahabism. In short, Wahabists stress that the entire world should be converted to Islam and there should not be any non-believer left. That is why ISIS is engaged in killing non-believers of Islam.

7 Responses to “My life is under threat-Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera”

  1. Vaisrawana Says:

    Panchamee Hewavissenti, you deserve our grateful thanks for this very timely contribution. Anti-Sinhala Buddhist propaganda conducted by the handful of ISIS-inspired Wahabist extremists amongst the Sri Lankan Muslims has turned the real victims of aggression into aggressors in the eyes of the misinformed world. The ethnic majority Sinhalese and the religious majority Buddhists who commonly form 75% of the 21 million SL population have been completely abandoned by the yahapalana regime and the JO in order to win the Tamil Muslim bloc vote in a future election. The government has criminalised even peaceful opposition to instances of extremist Tamil and Islamist depredations (though the truth is that the majority of those communities which form roughly 20% of the population taken together do not approve of them). By failing to hold the already overdue provincial council elections (which would give the electorate an opportunity to express their opposition to the current critical situation created by the authoritarianism of the Ranil-Maithri combine), they have disenfranchised the whole nation. By controlling the media (something evident in the fact that the true story about Gnanasara Thera is a secret to the local public and to the outside world), the government is violating our right to free speech, which is the fountainhead of all other freedoms.

  2. Ananda-USA Says:

    Gnanasara himi speaks the absolute truth about the Wahhabi Muslim invasion, and its emerging cladestine ISIS military arm within Sri Lanka.

    When I was a boy, the Muslims were a peaceful community that had largely integrated into Sri Lankan society. You could identify the men as Muslims only near the mosques by their white cap, and Muslim women just wore a shawl … usually the end of their saries … over their heads. Overall, it was difficult to differentiate Muslims from other people.

    Today, they are highly visible and assertive, with the women completely clad from head to toe in black robes! From where did that come from, I wonder? Muslim politicians are fiercely combative, and have taken over entire towns and villages where they make it difficult for non-Muslims to open businesses, buy land and settle down. This happens not just in the Eastern province, but also in many areas of the Hill Country. Mosques are proliferating, even right in front of the Buddhist holiest-of-the-holies the Dalada Maligawa. There is a Saddam Hussein City right in Sri Lanka. Clearly, lots of Wahhabi money is entering Sri Lanka and Muslims are buying up land as fast as they can.

    The latest signs of incrrased combativeness are the OPEN THREATS to incite violence made by the likes of Sally to match LTTE star Sivajilingam’s threat against the visit of President Sirisena to the North.

    Meanwhile, even as the USA, the UK and other Western Powers are expanding their CRUSADE against Muslim Terrorism, they are WARNING Sri Lanka against any action against Muslim jihadists who are expanding their activities in Sri Lanka, in a classic demonstration of DOUBLE STANDARDS and RANK HYPOCRISY. The danger is PAPABLE for them but is FABRICATED in our case.

    After the Manchester bombing, the UK government, followed by the US government, VOWED to INCREASE military action against the Islamic State, as they RIGHTLY should, but cautions Sri Lankans from doing ANYTHING to stem the ONGOING INVASION of Sri Lanka by Wahhabi and the ISIS as a sign of religious intolerance! They bemoan the rise of MADRASSAS as centers that spawn INTOLERANCE and TERRORISM worldwide, but strangely EXEMPT and SUPPORT their emergence in Sri Lanka in which a Muslim University dedicated to Sharia Law was recently opened.

    The Yamapalana government incessantly preaches SANHINDIYAWA & SAHAGEEVANAYAYA to create more breathing room for the RISE OF WAHHABI INTOLERANCE and EELAMIST RACISM while suppressing and preventing the Sinhala Buddhist majority from protecting their Motherland and, their Culture and their Buddhist faith!

    We have just emerged from 30-years of the Tamil EELAMIST version of SANHIDIYAWA and are teetering on the edge of descending into 30-years of the Wahhabi-version of SANHIDIYAWA. Nero fiddling while Rome burned has NOTHING TO COMPARE with the Yamapalsnaya singing HOSANNAS to these SANHINDIYAWAS!

    CLEARLY, Sri Lanka needs to RESTORE a PATRIOTIC Government committed to serving it’s Sinhala Buddhist majority, just as well as it serves the minority communities! LIP SERVICE is NOT ENOUGH!

  3. SA Kumar Says:

    Bhikkhu when you will come to Jalpanam !!!

  4. ranjit Says:

    Ven. Galagoda athethe Gnanasara Thera, don’t think for a moment that you are alone in this fight against Muslim fanatics we the sinhala buddhists who loves our Motherland are always with you and will give them a strong medicine stronger than what we gave to bloody Tamil terrorists. This is our land SINHALA buddhist land for centuries so it won’t be easy for any individual or group, another race or religion to grab our sovereign land or destroy it with their sinister plans or actions.
    Gaddafi warned the world about these Muslim murderers but no one listened​ to him and the west got him killed. Terrorism started by these Muslims in this world. They are responsible for killing thousands of innocent people around the world. Ruling parties, Maha Sanga and all peace loving people knows what these Muslims are up to but no one take action against them because of their drug money and votes. Who bring drugs to this country? Who started this problem? Is it Gnanasara Thera or someone else? Law should be same to all. Ven.Gnanasara is innocent until proven guilty. He fight on behalf of all sinhala buddhists and the SINHALA people therefor we sinhala buddhists must unitedly should support his cause and safeguard him from harm.

  5. Dilrook Says:

    I agree.

    Our laws lack protection of historical places. Buddhist and before-Buddhist shrines have been desecrated with Hindu and Islamic places of worship. A shrine cannot be defined narrowly. The entirety of the area considered as belonging to the shrine is part of it.

    US sponsored Bim Saviya fraudulent land grabbing mechanism must be cancelled. It is like cowboy law where aggressive land grabbing thugs are vested withe ownership! In order to fool the people, it has been given a Sinhala name but very few Sinhalese if at all benefited from it.

    Instead of violence and hate speech, BBS must enter the political mainstream seriously. It must not promote other parties (as it did in 2015) but canvass for own seats in parliament. Venerable Gnanasara and Dilantha Vithanage must be in parliament with a few more. I watched a Al Jazeera documentary about the 2014 Aluthgama riot where Mr Vithanage is interviewed in English. He expressed his views very well – far better than almost all parliamentarians!

  6. Christie Says:

    Jai Hind

    “He reiterated during the interview that BBS has no malice against Hindus. “Buddhists and Hindus are culturally interrelated and both religions share similar values. When Hindus face injustice, BBS is prepared to speak for them,” he said”

    Venerable Thara; you said it. You did a great job for the Indian Empire in installing the current government by alienating Sinhala Muslims and Christians from the majority Sinhala Buddhists vote and letting the Hindu block vote deciding he winners.

    Ven Sobitha is gone. Another Indian Job, ask Athul Keshap. He was another builder of this government. They used you and there is no use of you in the future. Indian Empire knows what to do.

    Jai Hind.

  7. Sarath W Says:

    The whole world except this stupid Yahapalanaya crooks have realised the threat from the ISIS and it’s followers. They openly destroy they ancient Buddhist sites and colonise the national parks. One such Muslim parliamentarian even warned about blood shed in Sri Lanka. Only when they kill a few white people the western world wake up and talk about action against these Muslim extremists. So far there is only talk from them, only Putin has the guts to take some action.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

 

 


Copyright © 2024 LankaWeb.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Wordpress