Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will make the appropriate decision at the right time on calls for a presidential pardon for Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera.
She told journalists the matter was linked to court proceedings and that the judiciary had already delivered its decision. Any further action would have to be based on advice from the judiciary, she said.
Amarasuriya said the President respects the judiciary, the country’s culture and the Constitution, and that these principles would guide his future decisions.
She was responding to questions about a march by Buddhist monks from Kandy. The march began as opposition to the requirement that Gnanasara Thera wear prison attire and has since turned to demanding a pardon.
The Prime Minister spoke after visiting the Malwathu Maha Viharaya and Asgiri Maha Viharaya in Kandy on Thursday, where she met the Mahanayake and Anunayake Theras of the two Chapters and presented the revised National Curriculum Framework issued by the National Institute of Education.
