Say 'PLEASE, NO' to monks intending to contest in the
2004 General Elections

Somapala Colombo

By now you would have heard that some Buddhist monks are contesting the forthcoming General Elections as a group. Isn't this completely against the Buddhist principles? It is suicide for us Buddhists as a religious group and it is political suicide for the Sinhala Buddhists. We agree that the Sinhala Buddhist nation is in dire need of patriotic leadership and the Sanga can provide it. BUT NOT BY CONTESTING ELECTIONS. (see note below for why it is a bad idea)

1. Do you think it is a wise move for Buddhist monks to contest the forthcoming General Elections?

2. Will you vote for a Buddhist monk even if you believe in the cause of the Sinhala Buddhist nation?

If the answer is NO and if you feel strongly about it as a Sinhala Buddhist, ACT NOW to prevent a potentially catastrophic situation. Build a voice urging the monks not to give / withdraw their nomination papers. It has to be done NOW. What you can do: Spread the message that you say no to Buddhist monks contesting. Be very clear that we are not against the cause but against the means. 1. Meet all monks you associate with and give the simple 'no' message. Monks are a single body which has tight links. 2. Meet monks who intend to contest. 3. Write as many letters,post cards as possible to monks you know and those that intend to contest and say no clearly and argue the case.

Add: Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloks, Asapuwa, Sulaiman Terrace, Jawatte Road, Colombo 5, Ven. Kotopola Amarakeeti, Shanthi Padanama, Baoudaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7

4. Fax (2507636, 369820), e-mail (Sihalaurumaya2@hotmail.com, Champika@sihalaurumaya.org), telephone (2368821,2369375) monks who you know and monks who intend to contest and say no and give reasons you have.

5. Initiate a signature campaign. Get as many signatures as possible and hand over the mail to the Monks who intend to contest. As many individuals and Buddhist organisations as possible need to get involved. It is the individual saffron flag and each of us dressed in white at Ven. Soma's funeral that is motivating these monks. We gave them the idea. Now let's give them our view.

Make it clear that WE SUPPORT THE CAUSE BUT NOT THE MEANS.

Everyone knows the Dhamma based reasons for why Buddhist monks should not come into compititive politics, in addition are the political reasons:

1. As long as the monks don't actually come forward, it would appear that if they do, they can commandeer a massive following and influence the masses. Contesting elections would force a quantification which will not reflect actual support as many people who believe in the Sinhala Buddhist cause will not vote for the monks for different reasons. The monks could be pushed off the mainstream as an extremist fringe, just as the Sihala Urumaya was. The fact that the numbers who support the Sinhala Buddhist cause cannot be equated to the number who will vote for the the monks will be forgotten. The Sinhala Buddhist lobby will lose its most powerful force. The monks will loose not just religious credibility but also socio-political credibility.

2. Many Sinhala Buddhist will not vote for Monks as (a). they know that monks going in for politics is fundamentally against the Dhamma Vinaya, (b). They will give their vote to a party that they know can form a government.

3.Unlike the vote of the minorities, the Sinhala vote is already split. If the Sangha were to enter the fray, they would split the Sinhala vote further. In the north and the east, the Tamil vote will go only to the TNA. The LTTE will make sure that the Tamils will vote in a bloc. With the Sinhala vote split, Prabhakaran will decide who will form the government. He will be able to seduce our power hungry politicians to give him Eelam.

4. Running for elections needs money, material resources, and the ability to be ruthless. Do monks have any of these attributes? Are they willing to go down to the level of the currupt people who run for elections and compete with them?

5. Even if all 200 Monks enter parliament, are they going to become Ministers? Will they sit on tender boards? And carry out all other functions of the state? Will they give orders to the police, the army? What ill their policies be towards fishing, poultry farming, cattle breeding?

6. The monks who have come together are of diverse backgrounds. Some are political monks, some are genuine monks of higher calibre who feel for the nation. Can such a group co-exist long-term?

7. Irrespective of whether they lose or win, the monks will never be able to command the same respect they do now. It will be a great loss for the Sinhala-Buddhist nation.

8. By the very declaration that they will come forward, the monks have disillusioned many Buddhists, both young and old. The decisions and actions they will have to take, in the future if they remain in electoral politics will only increase the kalakirieema of the Buddhists in the Sanga. This is just what the Christian fundamentalists and the Tamils want. We are giving it to them on a platter.

9. The Monks will be brought down to the level of laymen. They will no longer be seen as worthy of Dana, or respect.

10. The way to build a 'Dharma Dvipa' is not for monks to contest elections and become politicians. But to create an external, unifying force that cuts across party

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