Former Member of Parliament Wimal Weerawansa yesterday alleged that Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thera was arrested without equal enforcement of the law and claimed that Coastal Conservation Officers were being compelled to act unfairly.
Speaking to the media after visiting Venerable Kassapa Thera at the Trincomalee Prison, Weerawansa said the arrest appeared to be selective, with alleged violations of the Coastal Conservation Act enforced without applying the law equally to all religious sites.
Nine individuals, including Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thera and four other monks, have been remanded until January 19 in connection with an incident involving a Buddha statue in Trincomalee.
The controversy dates back to November 16, when Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thera and others staged a protest, claiming that police had attempted to remove a Buddha statue erected on land said to belong to the Sri Sambuddhatva Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya along Kotuwa Road in Trincomalee.
Weerawansa further alleged that Coastal Conservation Officers had taken action against constructions carried out using what he described as scientific methods, and claimed that the arrests were influenced by directives from a minister of the National People’s Power (NPP).
“If that minister were a parliamentarian with an enlightened mindset, he would not address religiously sensitive issues in this manner,” Weerawansa said, adding that Coastal Conservation Officers could face future difficulties if they are compelled to act in violation of the provisions of the Coastal Conservation Act.
