The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), releasing a statement yesterday condemned the act of pardoning Ven.Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera.
“He was jailed by the Court of Appeal for Contempt of Court. The thera’s appeal to the Supreme Court was later dismissed. This was the single instance when he was dealt with under the law, as his attempts to incite violence against non-Buddhist citizens always went unpunished,” the statement read. The TNA stated that at present, Sri Lanka faced the challenge of containing racial and religious bigotry and hence; if the country was to move forward with all its citizens being treated as equals, the government must deal with all hate-mongers, regardless of their race or religion.
“When the call of the hour was to take stern action against all such individuals, the act of pardoning a Buddhist monk sends the wrong message to the country - that it is only unacceptable when violence is incited by minorities and not the majority,” the statement read.
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