It appears that the government moved to prevent tomorrow’s gathering after Buddhist leaders met last Friday, after which they issued a letter in which they said they had a “duty to gather, discuss and take a decision” on the current situation of the country.
For former MP Athuralive Rathana Thero, such a stance was “unacceptable” despite the difficult moment for Sri Lanka’s democracy. He also alleged that some religious leaders at the gathering supported (Tamil) terrorists.
On Monday, the Congress of Religions had issued a statement signed by 20 religious leaders, criticising “the manner of the arrest of General”. In it, they said that he led the struggle in “defeating the rebels” and his arrest “disturbs all Sri Lankans”.
The Venerable Ittapana Dammalankara Thero, the Venerable Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero, Mgr Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, and Archbishop Emeritus Oswald Gomis are among the signatories.