CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Refuting misinfomation

Gamage Palihapitiya

Dear Mr. Kotakedeniya,

Your so-called reply is full of harsh words, sarcastic remarks, innuendoes, illogical statements and unintelligent answers. Furthermore, you have shown your anger, burning rage, hatred, vengeance, disappointments, frustrations, arrogance, etc. This is unbelievable from a 'great Sinhala-Buddhist leader' like you who is in the habit of reciting 'Budu Saranai'.

You started this controversy. You accused those opponents of your point of view and that of the JHU as 'traitors'. In that case, some Mahanayake Theras and thousands of Bhikkhus would also become traitors. We are free to have our own opinion because we live in a free world.

No person could be discriminated against on account of race, religion, political belief, etc, under the constitution. Had you been discriminated on account of your religious belief, you should have (a) filed a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court, (b) appeal to the PSC, (c) appeal to the Parliamentary Select Committee/Ombudsman, etc. However, you have failed to do anything. If you have any grievances against your superiors, you should have taken up that matter with relevant authorities following proper channels of communications under the Establishment Code, instead of screaming at press conferences.

We are not against the Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya. JSS should have come forward as an independent organization/lobby group to defend Sinhala Buddhist rights. (Muslims in France, Jews in the US, Catholics in the Philippines, Sheiks and Native Indians in Canada are powerful lobby groups). They should have united all the Bhikkhus under one banner. JSS should have put forward their own candidates (lay people) under the JHU or any other political party and supported them throughout the country. In contrast, the JHU has put the cart before the horse. That is why they have failed to attract people.

We are against our monks contesting elections to go to Parliament. They say that they should go to Parliament to clean up a mess. Next time, they would say that they want to become medical officers as the latter go on strike very frequently and they also, want to be cricketers as our cricketers are not good enough to meet the international standard!' There will be endless demands from them. They have become a laughing stock. The JHU and these monks have divided the Sangha and the lay people.

Your problem is that you are against Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Hindus, Christians, Catholics, SLFP, MEP, JVP, LTTE, SLMC, etc. You are against everybody. You are carrying a mixed bag of vegetables.

(a)We are not against Tamils, but Tamil terrorists who resort to divide the country through an armed struggle. We are against separatism or creating an Ealam.

(b) We are not against Muslims, but against Muslim regional councils.

(d) We are against our Buddhist flag being desecrated, Buddhist terminology being abused by the JHU

We want to live within a unitary state with other ethnic, religious and cultural groups maintaining our territorial integrity, freedom and independence as a peace-loving one nation (Sri Lankan). It could be achieved through tolerance, patience, non-violence and democratic means. We are not extremists, racists, communalists or religious-fanatics. Nor, are we blind followers to support anybody to come to power in the name of religion.

MULTI CULTURE: Sri Lanka has been a multi cultural, multi lingual, multi religious state since immemorial times. Both you and I were born into that environment/society. We can't change it now. We got to live with it whether we like it or not. However, the majority should rule. Our leaders should come clean. They should maintain their distinct national, cultural and religious identities, wherever they go, whether it is the Kovil, Mosque or the Church. Late H.E. William Gopallawa took his oaths as the President of Sri Lanka in front of a Buddha Statute, while Mrs. Bandaranaike made her maiden speech at the UN in Sinhala.

In the US, Michael Duckackis, a Greek immigrant, Rev. Jessie Jackson, an African American human rights activist, couldn't win the presidential election and nomination, respectively. John F.Kennedy was the only Catholic to win the presidential elections. Yet, it is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. Americans are politically matured enough and educated enough to take realistic decisions. Racism, communalism and discrimination are forbidden. India is another classic example. There was an Indian Prime Minister for a short period who didn't speak Hindi.

In Sri Lankan society, most of the TNA, and SLMC members speak in Sinhala, the language of the majority. They respect the law of the land. Some Muslim students under the unified educational system study the Buddhist religion at their free will, while maintaining their national, religious and cultural identities.

LIBRARY: I have listened to speeches of Anura Bandaranaike, and late Sarath Muttettuwagama, in Parliament and outside the Parliament. I have read Sinhala/English news papers/Hansards and it has been reported that (a) five ballot boxes were missing during the DDC election, (b) IGP Seneviratne was in Jaffna on that day, (c) he was jeered by junior police officers for the first time in the history of the Police Department, (d) Library was burnt down by the Police/or with their connivance. There were two government ministers in Jaffna on that fateful day.

You say, that I am a joker to help build the library. Jaffna is part of Sri Lanka. The library or any other government buildings are public properties. It is our sacred duty to rebuild the same, no matter who destroyed it.

For your information, I have to tell you that there were five Buddhist schools set up by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress for the benefit of the 'down trodden Tamil' people. In 1968, I who took Ven. Narada Maha Thera of Vajiraramaya to Karaveddy together with 12 public servants from Colombo and presented a Buddha statute and Rs. 300.00 (collected money) to repair the roof of the school. Ven. Kadavedduwa Nandarama Maha Thera, Naga Viharaya, Jaffna, and the officials of the then Jaffna Buddhist Society, Messers, Rattai and Vyramuttu also accompanied us to the village. We did it on humanitarian, compassionate grounds to help other fellow Buddhists.

You must read an article written by a Tamil journalist, D.B.S.Jeyaraj in the Sunday Leader, paying a glowing tribute to late Ven. Brahmanawatte Nayake Maha Thera of Naga Dipa Temple for his help to the innocent Tamils. He had protected them at the risk of his life. Our country needs monks of his caliber, but unfortunately the supply diminishes every day.

He should be a role model for those monks who are contesting at the election.

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