Sri Lanka frees convicts to mark Buddhist anniversary
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday granted an amnesty to 762 convicts to mark a key Buddhist anniversary, but resisted calls to release a firebrand Buddhist monk.
Addressing inmates at the main Welikada prison, Sirisena promised financial support to re-integrate them in society, but made no reference to monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, whose release was demanded Friday by the Buddhist hierarchy.
Sri Lanka has declared two days of holidays for nation-wide celebrations of Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha.
Those who benefited from the amnesty had been serving short jail terms for minor offences and none had been convicted of murder or rape, officials said.
The 762 released yesterday included several women.
“An increase in the prison population is a sign of the declining moral value of any country,” Sirisena said in a nationally televised ceremony.
He said Sri Lanka’s prison system was designed to accommodate 11,000 inmates but as of yesterday there were 24,332 convicts as well as remand prisoners in judicial custody.
Many Buddhist leaders had urged Sirisena to grant a special amnesty to monk Gnanasara on Vesak day.
Since December, Gnanasara has been serving concurrent jail sentences extending up to six years over his disruptive behaviour in court and intimidating a woman litigant.
He has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against minority Muslims in the Buddhist-majority country.
The monk has denied involvement in anti-Muslim riots in 2014 that left four people dead. — AFP
An increase in the prison population is a sign of the declining moral value of any country.
— Maithripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka President