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| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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'Bhikkus defacto leaders in Sinhala villages' by P. Krishnaswamy
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Media Secretary Uday Gammanpila is an Attorney-at-Law and a former lecturer, Monash University, Australia where he was a student having won a scholarship for his brilliant performance at the local Advanced Level examination at which he was the All-Island first repeating his record at the O/L's. A student of D.S. Senanayaka Vidyalaya, Colombo 7 he is now a full time activist of the JHV. In this interview with the Sunday Observer he takes on the issue of the alleged violation of the 'Vinaya' by Bhikkhus in participating in parliamentary elections and argues that it is the duty of the Sri Lankan Government to preserve Sinhala culture, and propagate Buddhism. Q: Your party is accused of facilitating the violation of the 'Vinaya' by Bhikkus through fielding them as candidates in the parliamentary election. Are these Bhikkus engaged in electoral politics purely to safeguard the Dhamma or to uphold the interests of an ethnic community, viz: the Sinhalese? A: This is an allegation levelled against us by politicians who will get their vote banks eroded as a result of the entry of Bhikkus into the fray. Although they frequently accused our monks of breaking the 'Vinaya' or disciplinary codes, they have failed to name the particular disciplinary code broken by our decision. The reason is simple. No single disciplinary code in the 'Vinaya Pitakaya' has been violated by this decision. So I challenge the critics to point out which part of Vinaya Pitakaya has been violated by the monks. Traditionally, Sinhala Buddhist monks have been regarded and respected as guardians of the nation. Throughout the recorded history spanning 2500 years, whenever the Sinhala nation was in danger, Buddhist monks came forward to safeguard it, even sacrificing their monkhood for the cause. The underlying principle behind this move was the widely spread belief that the end of Sinhala nation means the end of Buddhism in its pure form. History supports this belief. The Sinhalese are the only community who have been preserving Buddhism for an unbroken period of 2300 years. As such the Buddhist monks are contesting parliamentary election on Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) ticket to safeguard the Sinhala nation and the Buddha Sasana. Q: The Mahanayakas of the Siyam Nikayas as well as other senior Buddhist clergy, both here and abroad, are saying that the Vinaya rules are being violated by these bhikku-candidates. Do you think they are right or your bhikku-candidates are right? A: Firstly, it may be pertinent to recollect here that when Ven.Baddegama Samitha visited the Mahanayaka Theras, they blessed him and declared that we should work out to send at least 50 monks to parliament to safeguard the Buddha Sasana. Hence I am surprised at their sudden change. If Buddhist monks have violated the Vinaya Pitakaya by contesting elections, the Mahanayaka Theras should summon these monks to point out their wrong deeds. Criticising them in public by making statements, no good can be done for Buddha Sasana. Hence, I sincerely hope that the Mahanayaka Theras would call the contesting monks for a meeting. These monks can then defend themselves explaining the circumstances which have forced them to contest. Interestingly, the Mahanayaka Theras have also failed in pointing out which aspect of the Vinaya Pitakaya has been violated by the contesting monks. History bears to it that on all occasions when the Sinhala Buddhist monks had to select between either protecting the tradition or the Buddha Sasana, they had opted for the latter. When Pattanhaga Thera derobed himself to join the army of King Dutugemunu with the intention of returning to monkhood after victory in the war, it was surely a violation of the tradition and there was no such precedence. Although he violated the tradition, the Buddha Sasana was protected as a result. We can see similar happenings during King Walagamba's rule as well as the British colonial rule. Buddhists are now faced with a new challenge in the ever escalating threat of Christian fundamentalism. Buddhist monks advised politicians to enact a legislation totally banning unethical conversions. Although politicians promised it in the Buddhist temples, they forgot it in Parliament. Consequently the monks realised that advising politicians while remaining outside parliament is useless and that the only way out is to advise them inside parliament. So they decided to contest elections, trespassing the tradition once more, to protect the Buddha Sasana. Q: Do you think that by entering parliament and otherwise engaging in institutional politics these venerable Bhikkus will learn more about the complexities of law-making, managing the economy and governance? Will the Maha Sangha benefit from this new experience of Bhikkus in national politics? A: The objective of the Bhikkus in entering parliament 'is not to learn about different disciplines'. Already they are the de-facto leaders in the Sinhala villages. They very frequently interact with the society. They will enter parliament since lay politicians have failed to solve the basic problems of the people. Anyway, the Buddhist monks do not intend to stay in parliament for ever. They will leave parliament soon after laying the foundation for a righteous state. I do not think parliament is a good school for the monks to gain novel experience. Their plain is far above that of the other parliamentarians. They have already begun to set examples for the politicians to follow. The two major political parties began violent attacks at each other on the day of nominations. But the monks handed over nominations chanting 'seth pirith'. Participating in the 'kinihira' TV debate, they taught other politicians how to behave at a debate. They have so far not broken any election law. I am sure they will launch their campaign in such a manner that even their critics will appreciate. Q: Does your party recognise Sri Lankan citizens of all communities and religions as having totally equal rights in all respects or as the Sinhala majority deserving of a higher status and greater rights as citizens? A: We are based on Buddhism which speaks of equality. Hence we believe that all citizens of the country are equal irrespective of their race and religion. But Sinhala civilization is unique to Sri Lanka, similarly as Tamil civilization to Tamil Nadu. If Sri Lanka does not preserve Tamil culture, at least that would be done in Tamil Nadu. But there is no other country in the world which will preserve Sinhala culture. Therefore, it is the paramount duty of the Sri Lankan government to do it. And again, Sri Lanka is the traditional guardian of Buddhism, just as Vatican for Catholism and Saudi Arabia for Islam. As such, preservation and propagation of Buddhism is a duty of the Sri Lankan government. Q: Certain activists of your party have been identified by police as suspects in the recent attacks on Christian Churches. Does your party condone acts of violence based on religious enmity ? Do you condone these violent attacks against Christian institutions and individuals? A: Firstly I must question you for proof for this allegation. Kindly name to me the activists of our party who have been apprehended by police for attacking churches. If such a thing had happened the media would not have kept quiet. We vehemently deny this allegation which, I believe, has been spread by the JVP? Q: What is your party's response to the holding of territories by the LTTE? If you recognise the Sinhalese as an ethnic community deserving of nation status, would you also recognise similar status or at least regional autonomy for Tamils and Muslims in the North-East? A: As I have already explained, there is only one nation in this country, viz: the Sinhalese. The right to self-determination is only vested in them. Tamils have such rights only in Tamil Nadu. They can enjoy in Sri Lanka all minority rights accepted under the UN international declaration of 1992 on minority rights. Q: But the international community has admitted that the ethnic minorities, especially the Tamils of the North-East, have the right for self-determination? A: Unfortunately Sinhala leaders have accepted the LTTE claim for autonomy since they are both power-hungry and scared of losing their lives. This pathetic situation has given the wrong signals to the international community prompting them to talk of self-rule for the North-East. We must educate them on the myth of the Tamils' homeland theory which cannot be supported by authentic facts. Q: What is the vision of your venerable Bhikku candidates for Sri Lanka's future? If they sit in parliament will the venerable Bhikku-MPs oppose or support the development of a profit based capitalist economy? A: Let me give a general answer. They will analyse every problem in the light of Buddhist perspective. If something goes with the Buddhist philosophy, they will support it. Otherwise, they will reject it. Q: What is your solution to the long infestering ethnic problem of the country? A: As far as we can see, there is no ethnic conflict as such in this country. People belonging to different ethnic and religious groups live in harmony outside the North and East. On the other hand, people living in the North and East belonging to different ethnic and religious communities are suffering as a result of LTTE atrocities. So it is clear that it is nothing but mere terrorism. The government's duty is to wipe out terrorism and protect the innocent civilians. Q: Will you think of aligning with either of the two major political parties after elections? A: It is certain that there will be only four forces in next parliament, i.e. UNF, UPFA, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Buddhist monks. It is predictable that there will be a hung parliament. Before the monks' entry to parliament, the major parties had no choice other than affiliating with the pro-LTTE TNA. They have an alternative now. Forming an alliance with the TNA will lead to the creation of Eelam. Now as an alternative, they can join the Buddhist monks to create a righteous state. But at the same time, the objective of the monks will not be to form or topple a government. They will support or reject a legislation after analysing from the point of view of Buddhist perspective, irrespective of who presents it to parliament. |
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