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Buddhist assembly stopped because religious leaders criticised manner of General Fonseka’s arrest

by Melani Manel Perera
The meeting was set for tomorrow but was cancelled under pressure from the government. Buddhist and other religious leaders complain about the manner in which Rajapaksa’s main opponent was arrested.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – The great assembly in the temple in Kandy organised by the leaders of Sri Lanka’s three major Buddhist chapters will not open tomorrow. Unofficial sources said that government circles and other Buddhist chapters are opposed to it. Some leading Buddhist monks along with Christian, Hindu and Muslim religious leaders from the Congress of Religions met on 12-16 February to discuss the country’s uncertain situation following the arrest of General Fonseka, the current president’s main opponent.

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.