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Fasting monk dehydrated, but physically stable
View(s):On the second day of his fast unto death, doctors found the Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera dehydrated but yet physically stable.
Pic by Priyantha Wickramarachchi
The medical team which, examined the monk yesterday, checked his blood pressure. They noted that he was suffering from dehydration, but did not require any immediate medical treatment.
The Ven. Rathana Thera had started his fast-unto-death in front of the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy on Friday morning, demanding that President Maithripala Sirisena remove Western Province Governor Azath Salley, Eastern Province Governor A.L.A.M. Hizbullah and Minister Rishad Bathiudeen from their positions as he believed they supported Islamic extremism.
United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Parliamentarian S.B. Dissanayake was the only MP to visit the monk upto last evening.
Buddhasasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said he could not intervene in the matter, as the monk’s demands were directed to the President.
“However I will take up this matter at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. I am unable to comment on the situation till then,” he said.
Western Province Governor Azath Salley, meanwhile, remained defiant, amid increasing protests and calls for him to step down from his post.
“Anybody can protest. That’s their individual right. But on what basis could someone protest demanding the resignation of an individual who has not been found guilty of anything? Let someone file a chargesheet first to see if there are any credible allegations. There is no need for me to resign as demanded,” he told the Sunday Times.
A Presidential Secretariat official insisted that the Ven. Rathana Thera should have had the courtesy to first consult the President about his decision to start the fast. “The President has no intention to intervene in this matter at this point,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian S. Viyalendran, who now supports the Joint Opposition, also began a fast at Gandhi Park in Batticaloa yesterday in support of the Ven. Rathana Thera.