Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has given his account of why Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera was granted a presidential pardon, saying the decision followed objections from Buddhist monks to the prospect of the monk being disrobed in prison.
Wickremesinghe was speaking at a meeting of United National Party lawyers at the party’s political office on Flower Road, Colombo. Both the Daily Mirror and Hiru News reported the remarks on Saturday.
According to both accounts, the question arose after the Court of Appeal sentenced Gnanasara Thera to prison over the obstruction of proceedings at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court. Hiru reported that the monk’s robe was not removed when he was first imprisoned.
Wickremesinghe said he holds a letter sent by the then justice minister to Most Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera containing an assurance that the robe would not be stripped. The two outlets name different ministers as the author of that letter — the Daily Mirror reports it was sent by Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, while Hiru reports it was sent by Thalatha Atukorala. Neither account resolves the discrepancy.
About a year into the sentence, Wickremesinghe said, a delegation of monks met him and set out the Sangha’s customary disciplinary procedures. They argued that disrobing a monk over an offence that did not amount to a parajika offence — the gravest class of monastic breach — could create serious religious and constitutional concerns. The Daily Mirror reported the monks also said that insulting or obstructing a court was not conduct befitting a member of the Sangha, and that discipline could be imposed through the relevant religious authorities instead.
That left a choice, he said, between keeping the monk imprisoned with his robe removed or granting a pardon after about a year in custody. Wickremesinghe said he discussed the matter with then president Maithripala Sirisena, who held the constitutional power to pardon, and that it was also raised in Cabinet and with several ministers.
He added that written reasons are not routinely given for presidential pardons, noting that prisoners often receive sentence reductions or release on occasions such as Independence Day and Vesak.
The explanation lands while the same sentence is being served again. Gnanasara Thera returned to Welikada Prison on 5 October after the Court of Appeal ordered the balance of his six-year contempt term to take effect, and the removal of his robes on that occasion has since prompted a presidential committee on how jailed monks are held and a six-day protest walk from Kandy to Colombo.
Not reported: neither outlet gives the date of the pardon, names the monks in the delegation, or says whether Wickremesinghe intends to release the letter he says he holds.
