The highly controversial Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary the Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara who was released on bail on Tuesday after being held in remand custody for Contempt of Court following the Homagama High Court drama told the media outside the court premises upon his release that it was necessary to teach Buddhist priests how the law is being enforced in the country. "I request the Mahanayake Theras, the people who appear as the leaders of the Sri Lankan Buddhists and the Buddha Sasana Minister to include a course on the prevailing law enforcement system in the country, at least at the end of the Pirivena education or in the Bachelor of Arts (BA or Master of Arts (MA)
course at the end of any Buddhist education in the country", the Thera said.
Implied in the Thera's remark is the contention that bikkhus behave the way they do due to their ignorance of the law as it stands. The Thera himself was of the firm conviction that he would not have conducted himself the way he did inside the Court House if he even had a rudimentary grasp of the law. But the Ven. Thera is also on record saying that they of the Bodu Bala Sena would not subject themselves to the Roman Dutch law, which as the Thera held, was suddhage neethiya and would only abide by the law of the dhamma. The conduct of the Thera inside the Homagama High Court would certainly not have stood the scrutiny of even the dhamma neethiya. Running riot and hurling invective at the widow of the slain journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, insulting the court and court officials were acts that did not need even an elementary knowledge of the law for realization to dawn that it was a grave offense. Hence the Thera's pleading of ignorance of the law to justify his actions is a red herring to detract from the offence.
Is the Thera suggesting that stoning of business establishments belonging to minorities by saffron clad elements was due to the fact that the perpetrators were in the dark as to the laid down law of the country? Or was it the ignorance of the law that prompted bikkhus to surround the FCID, when Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was taken in for questioning, despite a court order prohibiting such a gathering being read out to them by the police? Nay, the circus is bound to continue. The defiance was evident when the Thera walked out of remand to be greeted by an equally belligerent coterie of monks who administered seth pirith to their leader and champion. There was no sense of remorse or penitence on the part of Ven. Galagodatte who was unrepentant, reiterating that the struggle would continue. The initial signs too looked foreboding with slanderous posters found close to the residence of the state counsel prosecuting in the Ekneligoda case. According to police, the posters have been pasted in an organized manner and no CCTV camera in the vicinity had footage of the group who pasted the posters. It behoves on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation in this connection and the culprits brought to book. This is the first time that a prosecuting attorney has been intimidated for performing his duties on behalf of the state and if the matter is allowed to go unchecked there will be serious consequences that will affect the whole legal process. We say this because today there are anarchic elements at work trying to undermine the legal system, what with corruption investigations piling up against former VIPs. There is a likelihood of the legal fraternity, particularly those representing the prosecuting arm, being threatened and intimidated, to deter them from working with dedication to unravel the facts. These elements will stop at nothing to wriggle their way out of the trap they are in. No less a person that the Speaker of Parliament had received death threats.
Be that as it may, Buddhist monks taking to law is unheard of in this country and even if they do and acquire even a working knowledge of the law, this is no guarantee that they would not be part and parcel of violent street protests in the future too. Besides, ignorance of the law is no excuse to evade prosecution as the Ven. Galgodatte seems to imply. The law is no respector of individuals. The law should be brought to bear in full force against those attempting to stir unrest among communities.
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