5th Column
When silence breeds hatred
View(s):Mahanayake hamuduruwane,
I thought I must write to you because everyone seems to be talking about Buddhist monks these days and the names of some Buddhist monks are being heard more often than the names of politicians in relation to certain incidents.
Much has happened in the past few weeks, hamuduruwane, and I am not sure whether you are aware of it, but most of the blame for what happened at Aluthgama has been attributed to a speech made by one hamuduruwo from the ‘Senawa’ when he was addressing a meeting there.
If you have not seen video footage of that speech, hamuduruwane, I am sure many people would want you to take a look at that footage. Then, you can tell us whether this hamuduruwo’s conduct or how his ‘Senawa’ operates, is in keeping with the accepted practices of Buddhism.
This hamuduruwo says he will do what he wants and he will not listen to politicians as he has the power to make or break governments. However, he also said he would only listen to advice from the Mahanayake hamuduruwo — which is why we want you to listen to what he said at Aluthgama.
And, Mahanayake hamuduruwane, it is not as if he has not had that advice either. We have heard of how he had an audience with one of you and he was told ‘mokak hari karanna’ — or ‘do something’. Certainly he has done much more than just ‘something’!
Since then, Uncle Sam, who is quick to fish in troubled waters, has announced that the American visa of this hamuduruwo has been withdrawn, making him look like some kind of a terrorist. I am not bothered about whether he can visit America or not, but surely this gives Buddhism a bad reputation.
After all, if this trend continues and we have more monks behaving like this, the Western media will soon start calling them ‘Buddhist terrorists’ — just as they now take great delight in calling people Islamic terrorists. Doesn’t that worry you, Mahanayake hamuduruwane?
Now, you might say that this is none of your business and the authorities such as the Police should take action against this hamuduruwo if he has done anything wrong. That would be ideal, Mahanayake hamuduruwane, but you know that the Police in our country work in mysterious ways.
Despite there being enough evidence of this hamuduruwo’s speech and there being laws against inciting communal violence, the Police did nothing for weeks. Then, this week they decided to record a statement from him. He emerged from that and made a few more sarcastic remarks about the Police!
Now, this is quite in contrast to how another of your disciples who claimed that he was abducted and assaulted by the ‘Senawa’ was dealt with. This hamuduruwo admitted that he staged his abduction and inflicted his injuries on himself — and justice seems to have been done quite speedily for him.
He has been arrested, charged in a court of law and remanded until a further hearing, all within a few days. That should be so if he was up to mischief but, hamuduruwane, why is it that some hamuduruwo appear to be more equal before the law than others?
It is not that you have not spoken out recently about some issues that were bothering you, hamuduruwane. Why, you protested about the night races in Kandy, didn’t you, even though that wasn’t of much use. Surely, what happened at Aluthgama is more important than the night races?
Mahanayake hamuduruwane, seeing these hamuduruwo behave in the way they do — inciting racial violence among communities through their speeches and staging false abductions to gain attention — makes me feel sad about the state of Buddhism and Buddhist monks in our country today.
Don’t you think you should be doing something about this, Mahanayake hamuduruwane? It is all well and good to talk about protecting the country, but then it does seem as if all these self-appointed saviours of the nations were hiding somewhere during the thirty years of war launched by the Tigers.
Suddenly, they have emerged from obscurity and are now masquerading as heroes. Isn’t it time to call their bluff, hamuduruwane? And, because of the esteemed positions you hold, Mahanayake hamuduruwane, we think you can help them by telling them where Buddhism ends and racism begins.
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: I don’t have to remind you of our recent history, hamuduruwane, but we know how SWRD used the Sinhala Buddhist slogan to come to power many years ago — and how he was felled by someone wearing a saffron robe. We don’t want history repeating itself, do we, Mahanayake hamuduruwane?