Some thoughts before the elections

6 August 2015 08:09 pm

We see from the Newspapers that the President who is a little free these days, going around the villages looking into the needs of the common people. This is very good. It is also good for the country. These days the Parliament is not in session. Though there is a Caretaker Cabinet it is non functional. Authority therefore rests with the President, when there are moves to limit his authority and when we have a general election going. The President still has powers to maintain the unitary state of the country. At present the country is on fire with the divisions connected to caste, creed and political affinity.

Historically, due to the peace that reigned at that time, churches, temples and other places of worship were built. Everybody lived in peace. But, in recent times, there were several terrorist uprisings. Some Tamil people embraced terrorism. Some others condoned their actions due to pressure. Some of their children took flight abroad. But the terrorists did not allow them to live in peace. They demanded ransom and obtained finance to buy ships, arms and many other equipment.

When I think back on our past, I feel that we should continue to have a President with executive powers. When action was taken to curtail the executive powers of the President, we saw terrorists trying to raise their heads once again. These are not secrets, and they must not be kept as secrets. We have to talk about these in the open. Terrorism started because matters were not talked about and discussed openly. If there is a law in the country, wrongdoing must always be punished. The so called ‘tiger’ held us all to ransom. We lost our belongings, tourism took a beating, we lost our jobs and since insurance claims went up, imports went up and the small enterprises disappeared. We must not forget these evil results.

The President is able to solve any problem arising from a UC or even from any Provincial Council, since he has powers to do so. I am aware that since he had his humble beginnings in the village and knows the problems of the common man; he is the ideal person to lead us with all executive powers. He is the ideal person to hold office, and he deserves it. We are indeed very happy to see the President going about into the villages talking to people, inquiring about their good health. As Monks, we have given up our father and mother and left our villages and we work for the public.
When the late Mr. Bandaranaike was assassinated, a Buddhist priest was the suspect. He would not have said that “a person in yellow robes shot me.” If Thalduwe Somarama shot him, he was free to say that “Somarama monk shot me.” He didn’t say that.

The Simamalakaya is there for the monks to assemble and discuss their problems, wants and even their mistakes. This will help the monks to improve themselves. The present Prime Minister has said that the Lichchavi royal family governed under the precepts of Seven ‘Aparihaniya doctrine.’ This is a very good saying. Condemnation and even hatred can be levelled against a government, prime minister, minister and so on. It can be levelled even against a Buddhist priest. People who have not offered Alms to the monks, not heard or read a word of Bana, nor entered a temple, condemn the Buddhist priests and the religion. If you belong to a religion what you should do is not to condemn the places of worship, but to help the clergy not to make mistakes and develop yourself. We see many Buddhist making such mistakes.

When the Dheegavapi Temple was looted, Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera led a protest. This was filmed on video by Minister Ashroff. He sent the video to the Muslim countries. Minister Ashroff gave a message to the Muslim world saying that the Buddhist priests and Buddhists have risen against the Muslims. This brought in substantial aid to the Muslims here from around the world. President Chandrika Bandaranaike accepted this. This was actually relief to a poor country.

When the Tsunami took place, everyone thought it to be a curse on our country. President Chandrika was out of the country at the time. There was a possibility to turn adversity to our advantage. But, we only showed 1% of our damage to the world. If we showed the entire problem to the world, the World Bank and the other countries would have helped us in greater abundance. All our debts would have been cancelled and we would have breathed freely. But, this was not to be, and we lost an opportunity. At this time, the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, worked well with limited resources.

During this time, the Gangaramaya helped to construct 2500 prefabricated houses. A house needed only an hour to construct. This helped Sinhala, Muslim and Hindu communities without exception. From the Perahera Fund Rs. 50 lakhs worth of food items were handed over to the Sirasa Maharaja Organization. Gangaramaya did not hand over the distribution to the Sinhala people but to the Tamil people.

During this election time, minority communities must not aspire to be or to act like the majority community and use what electoral power they gain with wisdom and temperance. At this juncture, we must learn from our past and work leaving behind all divisions of caste, creed and any other issue and work to at least rectify our future.

Now the SLFP has given up the ‘Hand’ symbol and are coming forward under the ‘Betel Leaf.’ The UNP, after helping various parties under different symbols, are coming forward under the ‘Elephant.’ Those who are intelligent and wise must support those who are not bent on narrow political gain based on ethnic and religious ideas. 

People are wise enough to understand what these people say and do. The truth is not in hearsay, nor in the newspapers and TV. We should give our preference this time too, to those who can make our future stable. We must weigh everything and give our preference to the suitable person.

You should avoid considering religious or any ethnic issues and take a direct decision at this election. The people must decide and vote for one among the two main parties to win the election. In that event, a stable government which does not have to compromise its essential policies, can be formed.

Those in the far away villages still do not know our Preferential System of voting. My advice to these persons is to cast your vote only to the party of your choice. If you really want to indicate your preference, do so in such a way that your vote is treated as a valid vote.

I have the following request to make. I know both Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, as well as Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe from young days. I like them both. They were very frequent visitors to the Gangaramaya. They offered alms to the monks. They were blessed by the temple. If you are a devotee of this temple, please listen to my advice. Please vote for the person whom you respect. If you are capable of helping them in any way in their campaign, please do so. This will help both of them to achieve what they have set out to do. This request is directed at all those who are fond of me personally, and those who are helping the Gangaramaya and have a close relationship with the temple.

If anyone has any problem in what I have expressed here and, if there is any suggestion, please forward that in writing to: Ven. Galboda Gnanissara Thera, Gangaramaya, Colombo 02.