The Buddhist chapter to which Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera belongs says it was not called to the President’s discussion on the removal of his robes, and has written asking for a meeting of its own before he is next produced in court.
The letter was sent on Friday by Agga Maha Pandita Ven. Dr. Kotapitiye Rahula Anunayake Thera, Chief Secretary of the Maha Viharavamshika Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Maha Sangha Sabha, to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Hiru News reported.
The jurisdiction claim
The letter restates the chapter’s central argument: because Gnanasara Thera is a monk of that Sangha Sabha, the authority to decide whether his robes are kept or removed rests with the Sangha Sabha itself.
Rahula Thera said he was surprised that the discussion held on Thursday went ahead without the chapter being included. That meeting between the President and representatives of the Maha Sangha had been set for Thursday after all four Mahanayaka Theras wrote to the Department of Prisons.
With the matter still unresolved, the letter says, the chapter wants to put its case to the President directly. It asks for a date and time before Gnanasara Thera’s next court appearance, and invites the President to come to the Mangala Uposathagaraya of the historic Kotte Rajamaha Viharaya, together with the relevant ministers and the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs.
This is the chapter’s second letter in the dispute. The first, on 6 October, went to the Commissioner General of Prisons rather than to the President.
Clergy in Britain write to Prisons
Separately, the Sri Lanka Sangha Sabha in the United Kingdom has written to the Commissioner General of Prisons condemning the decision to produce Gnanasara Thera in court in civilian clothing, Hiru News reported.
The letter was sent by Dr. Ven. Vitharandeniye Kassapa Thera, the body’s Vice President and Chief Incumbent of the Birmingham Maha Viharaya.
He wrote that monks have been imprisoned for offences throughout history and that the law must apply to them equally — but that it must also be applied fairly. He said he had no objection to prison clothing being worn inside the prison itself, but that he had not previously seen a monk’s robes removed and civilian dress substituted for a court appearance.
A state official, he wrote, should have been able to foresee that doing so at a moment of intense national controversy would distress the Buddhist majority. He asked the Department to refrain from such steps in future.
Not reported
Neither report says what was discussed or decided at Thursday’s meeting with the President, or which chapters attended. Neither carries a response from the Presidential Secretariat, the Department of Prisons or the Ministry of Buddhasasana to either letter, and neither gives the date of Gnanasara Thera’s next court appearance.
