A Letter from Kosala Jayasinghe regarding Tear Gas Attack at the Funeral of Ven Soma Thero

http://www.spur.asn.au/Ven_Soma_Funeral_Tear_Gas_Attack.htm

All these days I did not have time to sit behind a computer. Just now I went through the website http://jyotisha.00it.com/ and pleased to see Lakshman has placed very good sources of inf. re. Ven Soma.

I was present at the funeral when all the ceremonies were over and TV cameras were switched off some unknown party fired 3 tear gas canisters at the crowd of mourners ( one fell near the pyre) to create a blood bath.

Not a single high ranking police officer was present. Ven. Tuduwe Dhammananda (Dhammaloka?) begged the people to sit down and started chanting pirith. Later a DIG came on to the stage and apologised for failing in his duty, even after the president has warned that disruptive elements will try to create a situation.

Now the talk of everybody is this incident which was a method to shift the focus from the main issue.

Today some news papers reported that, the leaflets discrediting Ven Soma were printed by a press owned by a politico. Distribution of these leaflets angered some people at the funeral, who attacked the distributors who were protected by the police. They actually got into a police vehicle when the crowds attacked them. When a Buddhist monk went up to pacify the crowd, the police attacked him and the crowd then attacked the police giving them a reason to throw tear gas.

I was told by one ASP that the investigation into the death of Ven Soma is postponed until his DIG can come to an agreement with another parallel investigation undertaken by the Airport police. All diversionary tactics.

One single dayaka (Donor) in SL has remitted Rs. 2 M ( USD 20,000) to Shanti Jayasekara. for the operation and as we know the Moscow community handed over another USD 5300 to him. There is a false rumor that Dr. Shanti Jayasekara has returned this money. He stated that 2 operations were conducted on Ven. Soma. The autopsy revealed that no surgery was conducted. Only an attempt was made to place a stentor. This confirms that in spite of receiving all the money demanded by Shanti Jayasekara no proper medical attention was given to Ven Soma. It must be stated that Ven. Soma did pass away from a massive heart attack either natural or artificial.

I spoke to Ven. Soma's personal assistant Ven. Gambela Vajira. He confirmed that Ven. Soma was once offered Sri Saddhamma Keerthi Sri Dhamma Shastra Visarada title which Ven. Soma declined to accept. Director of Archives Dr. Wimalarathna told me that Ven. Soma was to be conferred an Honorary Causa by the University of Sri Jayawardenapura next year. Ven. Mahamevnave Mangala told me that after the passing away of Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Ven. Soma wanted to be away for some time to engage in some meditation.Ven. Vajira also told me that Ven. Soma never declined an offer to spread the word of Dhamma in an unknown remote areas. These factors may have led him to accept the persistent invitation by his trusted editor Sisirakumara Jayasekara to go to St. Petersburg.

I am pleading to the moderate Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Christian and Muslim leaders in the country Please get together and force the government to use the fullest force of law to punish those few who wanted to create trouble no matter what religion they belong and stop this problem once for all.

Otherwise sure these people will go and attack a Buddhist temple and blame it on Catholics or will attack a Church and blame it on Buddhists.