Buddhism disgraced: These disturbing allegations are a symptom of a larger decay

The National Child Protection Authority informed the court that it required repeated phone calls and in-person interventions before the police took action. The arrest order itself was issued only after the NCPA made a representation before the magistrate

The Buddhist high priests should put their house in order– no government can or should do it on their behalf

The arrest and subsequent bail release of Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera, on alligations of raping a minor girl has shed light on the dark underbelly of sexual abuse in the clerical order.  The incident has already left a foul stain on the saffron robe. The claims that the usual culprits have resorted to capitalising on the incident to defame Buddhism, though might be true, are not a reason to shy away from discussing it.

The investigators now claim the victim had been subjected to grave sexual abuse since 2022, when she was barely 12 years old. The litany of abuses only came to the surface when the victim, now 15, was arrested with a male companion in a lodge last month. During the investigations, the victim had allegedly revealed that the accused high priest was her main abuser. Subsequent examinations by the Judicial medical officer on April 10 had confirmed that the victim had been subjected to sexual abuse since she was 12 years old. 

However, it took 28 days since the first disclosure of the abuse for the police to arrest the accused monk, who had admitted himself to a private hospital in Colombo. Once the arrest orders were issued, it took repeated magisterial orders and a five-day delay since the first magisterial order before the accused was transferred from the private medical facility to the national hospital. 

 The National Child Protection Authority informed the court that it required repeated phone calls and in-person interventions before the police took action. The arrest order itself was issued only after the NCPA made a representation before the magistrate.  According to the  victim’s statement, her mother had allegedly accepted money and handed her over to the monk, first when she was 12 years old.  The investigators had also recovered over 80 phone conversations between the victim and the monk. The victim had also led the investigators to the site of abuse, and identified the quarters, the bed and certain garments involving the abuse. The victim had also claimed that she had been abused by a businessman with the mother’s knowledge.

The accused chief prelate, represented by an army of high-profile lawyers, led by President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, has denied all allegations. He was released on personal bail of 5 million rupees with two sureties and cash bail of 100,000 rupees. The victim’s mother, accused of aiding and abetting the crime, was also released on personal bail of 500,000 rupees and two sureties.

Granted that the accused is deemed innocent until proven guilty before the court of law. It is not the intent of this writing to comment on the judicial process.

Disturbing questions

 Yet, the incident had raised several disturbing questions. 

Firstly, the inordinate delay in the investigations into the allegation, the arrest, and subsequent transfer to the national hospital raises concerns over the conduct of the police. The vacillation of the police before high-profile individuals is not necessarily new, but it further erodes the public confidence in the institution. That the National Child Protection Authority could stand for the victim, against all adversity, is commendable. It must also be appreciated that the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs pre-empted what was most likely an organised disinformation campaign against the victim when it sought legal action against former MP Dilum Amunugama, who had publicly claimed that the victimised minor was a prostitute. 

However, structural and systemic inequality in the legal process, though not limited to this case, threatens to obscure the due process of law.  One example may be the horde of high-powered legal representation for the accused prelate, though one might argue– justifiably so – that every citizen is entitled to due legal representation. The victim was, however, represented by a group of volunteer lawyers lacking star credentials and a lawyer from the National Child Protection Authority. Those glaring inequalities, no matter how they are argued in legal lexicon, leave serious ethical concerns.

Silence of the clergy

Probably far more important concern, which many shy away from raising, is the accountability of the Buddhist high priests. None has spoken out. Their silence is troubling.  A detractor might call the silence strategic, but I would say it was because none has courage to speak up. The vacillation fuels further disorder. When unruly monks make  fools of themselves in the North, effectively feeding into the propaganda of terrorist lobbyists, the high priests were similarly noncommittal. However, their refusal to hold the clergy accountable has disreputed Buddhism. At that point, it ceases to be a matter of high priests. It becomes a matter for all Buddhists.  The vast majority of Buddhists recoil at recent allegations.

 One might also argue that they are not isolated incidents, though how many of them are reported is also a matter of concern.  It is rather easier to argue that such allegations, and disturbing conduct themselves, were universal across the religious orders. Yet whataboutism does not help.  It contributes to the decay. The decay reveals itself in many forms. Only an open discourse would help come to terms with it and seek remedies.  

 The Buddhist high priests should put their house in order– no government can or should do it on their behalf.