KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Himalayan Declaration”, was sprung on the public in 2023, as a solution to the ethnic issue. It was prepared by an assortment of Sangha   and an assortment of Tamil Separatists working together without any publicity.

The Buddhist assortment, called Sangha for Better Sri Lanka (SBSL) is a group of Maha Sangha from various Nikayas who have engaged in peace and reconciliation activities for decades and wish to see a peaceful prosperous Sri Lanka where all its people can live in harmony.

Shamindra Ferdinando observed that Sangha for Better Sri Lanka was an unheard of organization, and could it be another shocker like the peaceful’ Aragalaya that turned out overnight into a Trojan horse. People must be cautioned against globetrotting clergy.

The Tamil assortment came fromGlobal Tamil Forum (GTF) an influential Tamil diaspora organization, established in 2009 following the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. GTF said that it is absolutely committed to a non-violent agenda and it seeks lasting peace in Sri Lanka, based on justice, reconciliation and a negotiated political settlement. Tamil Separatist Movement rejected this utterance.

Sangha for Better Sri Lanka (SBSL) in cooperation with Global Tamil Forum (GTF) had held intense discussions in Nargakot (Nepal) and on 27th April 2023, released a Himalayan Declaration, to be used as a basis for national conversation within Sri Lanka.

The discussion in Nepal, was facilitated by Visakha Dharmadasa. Visakha is a director of the National Peace Council. Visakha was nominated for the collective Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 as part of the 1000 Peace Women across the Globe. She received the prestigious 2006 Humanitarian award by the NGO Inter Action based in Washington DC.

Himalayan Declaration promotes the pluralistic character of Sri Lanka and calls for respecting the different ethnic, religious and cultural identities. Here it the text of the Himalayan Declaration.

HIMALAYAN DECLARATION

Statement 1 Preserving and promoting the pluralistic character of the country where no community feels threatened about losing its identity and pride of place.

Statement 2 Overcoming the economic crisis, selecting an appropriate development model which encourages local production, facilitating involvement and investment from overseas Sri Lankans and others, ensuring the country is in a growth trajectory and making Sri Lanka firmly a middle-income country.

 Statement 3 Arriving at a new constitution that guarantees individual and collective rights and promotes equality and equal citizenship among all peoples, ensures accountable institutions and guarantees adequate devolution of powers to the provinces, and until such time focus on the faithful implementation of provisions of sharing of powers in the existing constitution.

Statement 4 Devolving power in a united and undivided country, accepting the religious, cultural, and other identities of people and respecting those identities, and working towards establishing trust between ethnic groups and religious groups.

Statement 5 Envision a Sri Lanka that is reconciled and committed to learning from its past and creating measures including accountability to ensure that such suffering never occur again.

Statement 6 Complying with bilateral and multilateral treaties and international obligations, taking steps to follow independent and dynamic foreign policy, and ensuring the country takes its pride of place among the democratic, peaceful, and prosperous nations of the world.

The Declaration was signed by Ven. Madampagama Assaji Tissa , Anunayake of Ambagahapitiya Chapter; Ven. Siyambalagaswewa Wimalasara  Chief Sanganayake of Northern & Eastern Provinces; Ven. Kithalagama Hemasara Nayake , General Secretary, Siri Dharmarakshitha Chapter; Ven. Kalupahana Piyaratana   Sri Saddharmawansa Chapter; Ven. Narampanawe Dhammaloka  Chief Sanganayake of Central Province; Ven. Walatara Sobitha Anunayake , Sri Sadhammawansa Chapter; Ven. Prof. Pallekande Rathnasara , Acting Mahanayake of Vajirawansa Chapter; Velupillai Kuhanendran Global Tamil Forum- United Kingdom; Shanthini Jeyarajah Global Tamil Forum – United States of America; Thanabalasingam Surendiran Global Tamil Forum – United Kingdom; Srikantha Bhavaguhan Global Tamil Forum – United Kingdom; Kannappar Mukunthan Global Tamil Forum – Australia; Prakash Rajasundaram Global Tamil Forum – Australia;. And Raj Thavaratnasingham Global Tamil Forum – Canada.

The Himalayan Declaration was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maitripala Sirisena, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Speaker of Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition and other political party leaders,senior representatives of political parties, diplomatic community and civil society.  It was also given to the United Nations Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche in Colombo.

Ven. Madampagama Assaji Tissa , Ven. Kithalagama Hemasara Nayake  and Ven. Prof. Pallekande Rathnasara  met with the Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickremanayake

The monks who accompanied the GTF delegation to meet President Wickremesinghe were. Ven. Dr. Madampagama Assaji Tissa a, Anunayaka of the Ambagahapitiya Chapter, Amarapura Nikaya, Ven. Siyambalagaswewa Wimalasara , Chief Sanganayake of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, Malwatte Chapter of Siam Nikaya, Ven. Kithalagama Hemasara Nayaka , General Secretary, Siri Dharmarakshitha Chapter, and Chief Sangha Nayaka of the Western Province, Ven. Prof. Pallekande Rathnasara , Acting Mahanayaka of Vajirawansa Chapter of Amarapura Nikaya, Ven. Kalupahana Piyaratana , former Member of Human Rights Council and Chairperson of Human Development Edification Centre, Ven. Narampanawe Dhammaloka , Chief Sanganayake of Patha Dumbara, Central Province, Asgiriya Chapter of Siam Nikaya and Ven. Wadduwe Dhammawansa , Deputy General Secretary, Ramanna Nikaya.

The  GTF delegation consisted of Dr. Elias Jeyarajah (US), Dr. Shanthini Jeyarajah (US), Raj Thavaratnasingham (UK,)Suren Surendiran (UK), Prakash Rajasunderam (Australia) and Dr. Kannaappar Mukunthan. Dr. Elias, during the war and after, campaigned extensively against Sri Lanka said Shamindra Ferdinando.

Sangha for a better Sri Lanka (SBSL) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF)  jointly criss- crossed Sri Lanka, meeting all religious dignitaries and political leaders, presenting the Himalayan Declaration” and explaining the thinking behind it,  said Harim Pieris. The Declaration was well received by all the religious and political leaders he said.

The   Himalayan group were accorded meetings and received the blessings of the most venerable Maha Nayakas of the Malwatte and AsgiriyaChapters, the Chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU), the Mosques Federation, the Maikundal Swami Kurukkal of the Nallur Temple Jaffna, Nallai Atheenam Kurukkal    and other Hindu priests and leaders, said Harim Pieris.

However, Dassanayake and Gamage say that there are ongoing efforts to get the four chief prelates of the three nikayas to publicly endorse the Declaration. Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha, the supreme decision-making body of the Nikaya  said that the  Himalayan Declaration did not reflect the official stance of the Nikaya.

The tilt of the Himalayan group is  shown in the following statement issued by the group. Here is the statement:

 Statement by SBSL and GTF on recent events in Sri Lanka Posted on April 4th, 2024.

The Sangha for Better Sri Lanka (SBSL) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) are saddened by the untoward incidents that took place during the Maha Shivaratri Event (March 8, 2024) at Vedukkunari Aathi Sivan Temple in the North of Sri Lanka.

On the Maha Shiva Rathri night (the most auspicious night in the Hindu calendar), in an alarming escalation of force, the security forces resorted to actions which included depriving the devotees of food, water and other basic necessities, and the forceful and humiliating manner in which the devotees including the temple priests were removed from the site and detained.

We are aware of the history of the conflict in this and other contentious areas which are often fuelled by the suspicions and fears among the minority communities about the broader state agenda of imposing majoritarian character, symbols and practices at the expense of their centuries old cultural traditions and practices. The Archaeology Department is often viewed as a tool to achieve this end. The courts, too, are subjected to unhealthy pressure and in the present crisis there are conflicting interpretations as to whether the night pooja was permitted or not – this in itself is an affront to those who have been following such religious practices over many years.

What was striking the most during the recent escalation was the excessive force and the humiliating treatment inflicted upon the devotees of a particular faith.

As the police couldn’t produce any evidence of damage at the site, and the fact that there was an existing legal determination that worshipping must be permitted and the release of all detainees by the judge is of great relief.

The oral statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, presented earlier this month highlighted continuing abductions, unlawful detention and torture by the Security establishment and the present crisis appears to validate his strong concerns. Further, such occurrences go against the reconciliation agenda the government purported to promote, including by setting up a new Office for this purpose.

We are also concerned about the negative fallout such incidents can cause to the initiatives undertaken by SBSL and GTF for promoting religious harmony and understanding among all communities in Sri Lanka.

It is noteworthy to acknowledge that the SBSL monks visited the sites in January to see it for themselves where issues were identified, including the Thirukoneswarar Temple in Tricomalee, Kurunthoor Malai and in Kankesanthurai within the presidential palace compound which comprises two Hindu temples, namely Lingeswarar Kovil and Krishnar Kovil and a Samadhi (tomb or mausoleum) of Sadayamma Sadhu. The Minister assured the monks that he will assist in finding resolutions to these issues in the near future. On 10 January, at Kurunthoor Malai, with the assistance of the Governor for Northern Province, the monks were able to resolve the issue of water supply to a large part of agricultural land to which water supply was temporarily suspended… (continued)