Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said on Friday that the government will not bend or amend the law for any individual, as Buddhist monks continue protests demanding the release of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera.
Jayatissa said the monk’s sentence was imposed by a court, that people have the right to appeal, and that the legal proceedings had concluded. He said the government is responsible for implementing court orders and cannot make exceptions based on a person’s identity or standing.
He said public dissatisfaction with unequal application of the law under previous administrations was one reason behind President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election victory.
The monks began a march titled “Justice for the Robe – Freedom March” from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy on 10 October. They reached the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 15 October. After a court order barred protests there, they moved to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, where four representatives held talks.
The monks said they will stay at Viharamahadevi Park until Gnanasara Thera is released.
