JCBO displeased over Party manifestoes

The Joint Committee of Buddhist Organizations have expressed regret that none of the manifestoes issued by a number of political parties contesting the next Parliamentary Election have addressed the problems Buddhists in Sri Lanka are facing.

Following is the full text of the JCBO statement:

Manifestos have been issued recently by a number of political parties but it is unfortunate that none of them have attempted to declare their stand on the ever increasing threats to the Buddha Sasana by anti-Buddhist Forces. The lame duck policy, on which all political parties seek to fool the Buddhist public, seems to be that religion and politics cannot be mixed. On the contrary where Buddhists form over 70 per cent of the country’s population and whose 2500 year-old culture and traditions and inter religious harmony which have been ingrained in their unique way of life are now being seriously threatened, the Buddhists have a right to know the approach of each political party to the problems of the Buddhists
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Buddhists have been disappointed with the lack of action taken by Buddhist Parliamentarians in the previous legislatures on the recommendations of the 1956 Buddhist Commission Report. The recommendations contained in the Report of the 2002 Presidential Commission on the Buddha Sasana and the findings of a recent Committee appointed by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress to investigate and Report on the conversion through unethical means of Buddhists to other religions, all of which highlight the serious problems faced by Buddhists, remain unresolved to date.

In addition to the above list, among many other anti-Buddhist activities, illegal prayer centres are being set up throughout the country, some of which have been turned into healing centres at which a number of innocent lives have been lost. The call by the four Most Venerable Mahanayaka Theros, national organizations of Buddhist monks and leading Buddhist organizations to re establish the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, has met with no response. In this situation which affects a large majority of the population of this country, the Buddhists would naturally expect the political parties to declare their stand on these issues without sweeping these serious problems confronting the Buddhists under the carpet and maintaining a deafening silence on these issues.

Buddhist groups from all over the country and particularly those whose lives have been adversely affected by anti-Buddhist groups operating amidst them, have expressed to the Joint Committee of Buddhist Organisations, a Committee comprising over 20 member Buddhist organizations, their concerns that both the political parties and the candidates who are seeking to represent them in Parliament are silent about their stand on the serious issues they face as Buddhists and have sought the guidance of the Joint Committee as to how they as Buddhists should interact with the Buddhist candidates in their areas to ensure that the candidates they support will highlight the problems of Buddhists in Parliament and take steps to find meaningful solutions to these problems through ensuring implementation of existing laws, rules and state procedures and introducing new laws where necessary.

Accordingly in an attempt to bring sense into the thinking of the Buddhist candidates seeking a place in Parliament through the 2010 General Election while ignoring the above needs of their voters, the Joint Committee has taken steps to advise the Buddhist public of the manner in which they should use their Manape. While firstly advising them that they are free to use their valuable vote for the party of their choice they have been requested to use their preference votes only in favour of those Buddhist candidates who are prepared bravely and unashamedly to assure them that if elected they will highlight the challenges to Buddhism in Parliament and do everything within their power to find solutions to these challenges, which in any event is a duty cast on them by Article 9 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. They have been further advised to desist from using their preference votes if they do not find trusted candidates from their preferred party who are prepared to give them the above undertaking.

This message is being taken to the Buddhist public through thousands of leaflets and through notices that have appeared in some of the Sinhala newspapers. Great enthusiasm has been shown in the manner this problem has been approached, as evidenced by the large number of requests for these notices.

- Asian Tribune -