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AMARAPURA SANGHA SABHA OF SRI LANKA DEMANDS A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO VENERABLE SOMA’S DEATH FROM RUSSIA

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

The Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha, the Buddhist Sect to which the late Venerable Soma belonged appealed to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Colombo Sri Lanka to hold a full investigation into the death of Venerable Soma in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In a special memorandum to the Russian Ambassador, Mikhail G. Karbov the island nation’s very influential Buddhist Sect said the Venerable Buddhist monk died in the Russian Federation under very suspicious circumstances.

The late Venerable Soma died in Russia while being hosted by a Sri Lanka born fundamentalist Christian priest, Rev. Shanthi Pushpakumara Jayasekera who is running a degree conferring institution, in St. Petersburg Russia. The institution, known as the “International University of Fundamental Studies” in its website published a photograph, of the late Venerable Soma receiving an honorary PhD. degree from the institution.

The institution is one of the several fundamental Christian institutions that mushroomed all over Russia with the investment US based funds after the collapse of the former Soviet Union that conferred degrees of alleged dubious standards.

The late Venerable Soma, who was a very passionate campaigner against what he called “immoral religious conversions” by US backed Christian fundamentalists by offering money to poor Buddhists was encouraged to receive the honorary degree, it was reported, by Sisira Kumara Jayasekera, brother of the Rev. Pushpakumara Jayasekera who some how went to work as the editor of the newspaper of the Janavijaya Foundation headed by the late monk. Reports from Colombo said that Sisira Kumara Jayasekera had been interrogated by the Airport Police for five long hours on the orders of the Negombo Magistrate. The Police said they would also question co-workers of Sisra Kumara Jayasekera of the Janavijaya newspaper. Sisira Kumara Jayasekera has also been listed by the web site of his brother’s Russian institution as a recipient of a degree. It is not clear whether he lived in Russia while studying for the degree or whether it was received after some sort of distance learning.

Rev. Jayasekera in a communication to sources close to the Australian temple where the late monk headed said that he would not only give the late monk a Ph D but also the title, Professor. Sources close to the temple also told this correspondent that the late monk had tendencies of liking such titles.

The Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha in its memorandum to the Russian Ambassador said, that they had received many stories about the death of the late Venerable Soma Thero that aroused suspicions about foul play .The memorandum also said, strong suspicions were spreading among the general public as well as the Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka about the passing away of the monk in St. Petersburg.

The memorandum said that Venerable Soma worked hard for the moral elevation and rights of the nation and there was a mass movement behind him. Those were among the people who raised strong suspicions about his untimely death.

Reminding the ambassador, that the Russian Federation and Sri Lanka had been two friendly nations in the past the memorandum said a full investigation into the death of the late monk was necessary for the furtherance of the traditional friendship of the two countries.

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