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Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero, who was launched on bail after being held in remand custody for twenty-nine days, made a number of critical allegations in opposition to the federal government, the police, and jail officers throughout a press convention held on the Colombo Buddhist Federation. He said that he, together with 4 different ordained monks and a complete of ten folks, had been arrested in reference to an incident involving the development of a canopy for a Buddha statue in Trincomalee, and that the police assaulted his group till their robes got here off.
Venerable Kassapa Thero, stating that he even needed to be hospitalized resulting from these assaults, additional talked about on the press convention {that a} high-ranking official on the jail additionally threatened him after he was incarcerated.
Explaining the information relating to this incident, His Reverence identified that when the development started, the OIC of the Trincomalee Port Police and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (SSP) each arrived and obstructed it, stating that there was a grievance from the Coast Conservation Authority. Venerable Kassapa Thero states that he knowledgeable them to deliver a court docket order in the event that they needed to demolish it, and though one MP later got here and advised them to proceed the development, one other MP arrived with the Assistant Superintendent of Police within the night and pressured them to cease it instantly. Nonetheless, he alleges that at night time, about 2 hundred law enforcement officials, together with the riot management unit, arrived, reduce the wire fence of the temple, entered, took away the Buddha statue, broke the parasol, and assaulted each Venerable Sukhithawansa Thero and himself. He emphasised in his press convention that regardless that the treasurer of the Dayaka Sabha (lay devotees’ council) provided fifty thousand rupees at the moment, pleading to cease the assault, the police didn’t hear, and after being hospitalized, a robust authorities determine known as him to try to settle the matter, however he didn’t betray that wrestle.
An evaluation of the responses revealed on social media, particularly by Fb, relating to this information clearly exhibits that the overwhelming majority of individuals are extremely distrustful and displeased with Venerable Kassapa Thero’s assertion. Many have commented, accusing him of violating the Buddhist principle of Musavada, or mendacity. Particularly, the assertion claiming that he was assaulted till he bled and his robes got here off has been severely criticized, with their essential argument being that if such a extreme assault had occurred, no associated harm marks or modifications had been seen to the media. Some customers have even sarcastically prompt that the particular person behind him masking his face is doing so as a result of he can not bear the false statements made by the Venerable Thero.
Moreover, a number of customers who commented questioned why these assaults and threats weren’t legally reported to the court docket. Many have opined that by not acquiring medical reviews and presenting them to the court docket, however as an alternative merely coming earlier than the media and issuing statements, there’s a hidden agenda to incite racism and spiritual extremism to achieve political or different private benefits. Some feedback recommend that this was a efficiency staged to guard a store or a enterprise institution.
One other level additional implied by these responses is that right this moment’s society isn’t prepared to just accept any assertion as absolute fact merely as a result of it comes from somebody sporting a gown. The vast majority of folks, who declare to respect the true Buddhist philosophy and the virtuous Maha Sangha, have expressed their deep remorse and anger over the discredit introduced upon your complete Buddha Sasana by such incidents. It’s clearly evident from these nameless social media responses that the general public is urging the federal government and authorities to take authorized motion in opposition to people who mislead society by hiding behind the gown, and to conduct a separate investigation into them.