Chief Incumbent of Gangaramaya condemns haste to carry out international probe
Chief Incumbent of Gangaramaya the Most Ven. Galaboda Siri Gnanissara Maha Thera, in a letter to US Ambassador Michele Sisson, has said that the haste that is seen to carry out an international investigation gives the impression of impatience,
at a time and in a situation when patience is what is most called for.
The Ven. Thera has said , in his letter dated Navam Poya Day, that the rising concern in this country today is about the extreme haste that is seen in seeking an international investigation into wide ranging, and even surprising allegations about war crimes and violations of human rights, during the final stages of the military operations carried out to defeat the forces of terror that caused so much pain, suffering and damage to our people and nation - irrespective of community - through nearly three decades of brutality that was ended in May 2009. These forces of terror were identified and described by the State Department of your country as being the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world. It is not necessary for me to write in detail what mayhem they caused - killing innocent people, Buddhist monks, Hindu and Muslim priests, farmers, children, pregnant mothers and destroying infrastructure of a wide range and above all attacking places of worship irrespective of religion.
That military operation, therefore, had a most humanitarian purpose. It was to safeguard one fundamental human right--- the right to life. The country and people have obtained peace and are seeking to build on this peace to turn the pages of a brutal period, to those of tranquility and understanding among people. From the examples of similar crises and violent conflicts in other parts of the world, you will understand that the process of reconciliation and the coming together of former rivals in combat does not take place with speed and cannot be hurried. The haste that is seen to carry out an international investigation gives the impression of impatience, at a time and in a situation when patience is what is most called for.
The teachings of the Enlightened One show us that the consequence of armed conflict, which is always best to be avoided, leads to a time span of utmost patience to arrive at the ultimate goal of understanding and reconciliation. This is not achievable with haste and impatience. I would state here that patience itself is an act of compassion towards all parties to a conflict, and with the ruthless nature of the conflict that was seen in this country, it needs more of the compassion of patience to achieve the desired result of reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador met the Chief Incumbent of the Gangarama Temple yesterday. The Ven. Thera led a peaceful protest march to the US Embassy on Saturday, where the Ven. Thera along with many others handed over a letter to the US Embassy in Colombo.
At the meeting, the Ven. Thera said he himself had Permanent Resident status in the United States of America. "There are many Sri Lankans living in the USA and those citizens have in fact seen the terrorist activities which occurred in Sri Lanka," he said.
He pointed out that it was unfair to point the finger at Sri Lanka without appointing a committee which comprised all the religions and ethnicities living in the country to look into the matter.
The Ven. Thera further said history proved that the Sinhalese lived with the Tamils in peace and harmony. For instance, the Tamil King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe got the throne without fighting and with the consent of the Sinhalese in the country.
The Ven. Thera led a peaceful protest march to the US Embassy on Saturday, where the Ven. Thera along with many others handed over a letter to the US Embassy in Colombo.
The Chief Incumbent also pointed out that King Dutugemunu had ordered the people to pay due respect to the rival King Elara's tomb.
He said it was impossible to erase from the history, the destruction caused and lives lost due to terrorist activities, adding that the support given by the USA to eliminate terrorism was invaluable.
The Ven. Thera requested the Ambassador not to follow the double standards adopted by neighbouring India and destroy the relationship which existed between Sri Lanka and the USA.