The Chief Prelates of the four Buddhist sects in Sri Lanka have written to Ranil Wickremesinghe seeking his pardon for convicted racist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, a notorious figure who was imprisoned over hate speech.
The four prelates of Malwathu, Asgiri, Amarapura, and Ramanya claimed that Gnanasara’s actions were “commended” by many and he had advocated for “the prevention of conflicts between ethnicities”.
They have also stated in their letter that it was Gnanasara who was instrumental in making necessary arrangements for the establishment of the Presidential Task Force for One Country, One Law. They called on Wickremesinghe to pardon the monk on Vesak, a Buddhist festival which falls later this week.
Earlier this year, the High Courts in Colombo found Gnanasara guilty of stoking racial tension and guilty on the two charges of causing harm and provoking religious animosity by insulting Islamic religious beliefs.
The judge concluded that his remarks were not accidental but intentional and malicious expressions of religious animosity. She also emphasized the duty of the monk to promote harmony and such statements would escalate ethnic and religious tensions in the country.
Gnanasara has vehemently opposed Tamil’s rights to self-determination, threatening a “river of blood” in 2020.
“We will not allow the Tamils to find a solution through devolution. If they demand a separate state again, a river of blood will flow in the North and East.”
In 2014, prior to the anti-Muslim riots, Gnanasara told a cheering Sinhala nationalist crowd in Aluthgama that “if one marakkalaya ( Muslim) lays a hand on a Sinhalese that will be the end of all of them”. The resulting violence killed four people and left 80 injured, with hundreds left homeless. Amongst the sites attacked were mosques, Muslim homes, businesses, and even a nursery.
