Monks set out from the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy on 10 October. Photograph: Sri Lanka Mirror
Buddhist monks marching from Kandy to Colombo to demand the release of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the extremist monk whose Bodu Bala Sena has led campaigns of hate against Muslims, are due to reach the capital on Thursday, as he serves the rest of a six-year sentence for contempt of court.
The march, called “Siwurata Yukthiya” (Justice for the Robe), set out from the Temple of the Tooth on Saturday, stopping at Kadugannawa, Kegalle and Warakapola. On Wednesday, its fifth day, it left Nittambuwa for Kadawatha, Ulapane Sumangala Thera, one of its leaders, said . The monks plan to end the 121-kilometre march opposite the prison in Colombo where Gnanasara is held.
Monks and supporters gather at the statue of Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thera in Kandy before the march. Photograph: Sri Lanka Mirror
“We will keep on protesting until he is freed,” said Walawahangunawewe Dhammarathana Thera, the chief incumbent of the Mihintale Raja Maha Vihara.
Ulapane Sumangala Thera condemned what he called arbitrary action by the government against Gnanasara, and said the campaign would continue until he was released . Monks also protested in Yatinuwara, Kalutara and Kegalle, and a campaign to collect 10 million signatures for his release has been held across the country.
Monks march towards Colombo carrying Buddhist and Sri Lankan flags. Photograph: Sri Lanka Mirror
A widely shared image of a huge crowd on the first day of the march was found to be AI-generated by the fact-checking site Fact Crescendo, which said real footage from Pilimatalawa showed a small group of monks and lay supporters.
Marchers carry a banner on the route to Colombo. Photograph: Sri Lanka Mirror
The campaign began as a protest against the prisons department’s decision to remove Gnanasara’s robes, after he was produced in court in prison clothing . The Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has since appointed a committee to review the rules on how monks are treated in prison.
Gnanasara, in prison clothing, is escorted by prison officers at the Colombo High Court. Photograph: Ada Derana
The former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has defended the presidential pardon Gnanasara received in 2019, when Wickremesinghe was prime minister. Speaking at a meeting of United National Party lawyers, he said senior monks had warned that removing Gnanasara’s robes would cause a serious religious controversy . The pardon, granted by Maithripala Sirisena, was annulled by the Supreme Court last month.
The march on its fifth day. Photograph: Ada Derana
Gnanasara has led the Bodu Bala Sena since 2012, and the group has been accused of inciting anti-Muslim violence, including the 2014 riots in Aluthgama. In 2021 the then Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed him to head a presidential task force on “One Country, One Law”. He also faces a separate case filed by the Attorney General over remarks about the Quran alleged to have insulted Islam.
He was convicted of contempt of court in 2018 after disrupting proceedings at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court in 2016 in the case over the disappearance of the journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, and intimidating his wife, Sandya Ekneligoda. He was arrested at a forest monastery in Kalutara on 3 October.
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
Please use below email to contact us:
Loading comments…