Some Buddhist monks protest peace process, but

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000296 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA; NSC FOR E. MILLARD LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/13 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR SOCI PHUM CE LTTE SUBJECT: Some Buddhist monks protest peace process, but most seem favorably inclined or neutral at this time Refs: Colombo 280, and previous (U) Classified by Ambassador E. Ashley Wills. Reasons 1.5 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A small group of Buddhist monks aligned with the radical JVP party is regularly taking to the streets to protest the GSL's peace initiative. The vast majority of Sri Lanka's monks, however, seem favorably inclined or at least neutral toward the peace process. The GSL continues to work to placate monastic opinion, which is historically important in majority Buddhist Sri Lanka. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) RADICAL MONKS: A small group of Buddhist monks is regularly taking to the streets to protest the Sri Lankan government's peace initiative. The monks, organized into a group called the National Bhikku Front (NBF),are aligned with the radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party. Like the JVP, the NBF is rabidly Sinhalese chauvinist, accusing the government of giving in too much to the demands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the course of the peace process. According to contacts, the NBF may have a membership of several hundred monks, a small fraction of Sri Lanka's 16,000 registered Buddhist monks. (Note: Several thousand monks are not registered, and there are believed to be around 25,000 monks total in the country.) As the JVP mobilizes anti-government marches and rallies around the country, NBF monks are playing a conspicuous role. On February 20, for example, many saffron- and red-robed NBF monks participated in a tumultuous JVP-sponsored rally, which tied up traffic in parts of Colombo. In the February 21 papers, photos of these monks were splashed on the front pages of several newspapers. In past marches, NBF monks have also protested outside the Norwegian Embassy, burning the Norwegian flag and demanding the end of the Norwegian government's peace facilitation role. ¶3. (C) Other than the NBF monks, there is also a very small group of radical monks associated with a Buddhist cleric named Venerable Elle Gunawanse Thera. Gunawanse ("Thera" is a Buddhist honorific) recently organized a group called "The Alliance to Protect the Nation," which is fiercely anti-peace process and anti-Norway's peace facilitation role. Gunawanse is considered charismatic and some observers believe this factor could potentially help him rapidly expand the membership of his group. Small groups of monks are also associated with the Sinhalese extremist Sihala Urumaya party and with another radical cleric named Venerable Gangodawila Soma- Thera. ¶4. (C) MOST MONKS SEEM PRO-PEACE PROCESS OR NEUTRAL: Despite the recent uptick in activities by radical monks, most of Sri Lanka's monks seem to remain favorably inclined toward the peace process, or at least neutral. In forming their opinions, most of Sri Lanka's monks seem to be taking their cue from the major monastic orders, the Malwatte and the Asgiriya, which control large temple complexes in the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka. Both the Malwatte and Asgiriya Mahanayakes (monastic leaders) have basically made pro- peace process soundings since the advent of the peace process in December 2001. Of the two, Asgiriya chief Udugama Sri Dhammadassi Rathanapala is the more lucid and the more moderate, regularly underscoring in private meetings and sometimes in public the need for peace in Sri Lanka and reconciliation among ethnic groups. Malwatte chief Rambukkwelle Sri Dharmarakshiha is not quite as moderate (he sometimes makes Sinhalese Buddhist extremist comments to visitors),but, in general, he has been careful to utter words that support the peace process. Outside of Malwatte and Asgiriya, leaders of some of the other monastic orders -- which support a more pietist strain of Buddhism -- have urged their followers to stay out of politics altogether and to focus solely on temple activities. ¶5. (C) (((Note: The monastic orders do not tend to issue political texts, and in describing monastic opinion, one problem is that both the major Mahanayakes are aged, hard of hearing and tend to mumble a lot. This gives rise to differing interpretations of what they say in meetings. At times, for example, they are cited as making strongly pro-peace process comments, and at other times almost the opposite. When asked, their assistants admit they are also confused at times by what their bosses say. End Note.))) ¶6. (C) Another prominent monk who has taken a pro-peace process tack is the Venerable Baddegama Samitha. Samitha, a MP -- and the first monk ever to serve in the Sri Lankan Parliament -- constantly speaks out in favor of ethnic reconciliation. (Note: Samitha is a member of President Kumaratunga's People's Alliance party, representing the LSSP, a Trotskyite party. While moderate on peace process issues, Samitha is bitterly anti-U.S. with respect to Iraq policy.) ¶7. (C) GSL DEALINGS WITH THE MONKS: Since coming to power in late 2001, the United National Front (UNF) coalition government has dealt carefully with the monks. The Prime Minister and his closest advisers, for example, constantly travel to Kandy to meet with the Malwatte and Asgiriya Mahanayakes. During these meetings, the PM and other government officials ritually announce that the GSL is providing this-or-that additional support to Buddhist foundations, temples, and sacred sites. Key government officials, such as Minister G.L. Peiris, the chief GSL negotiator, also regularly briefs the Mahanayakes on the results of the peace talks with the LTTE. Thus far, these efforts to keep the monks in the loop seem to have paid off inasmuch as the government has had no major confrontations with the monastic orders. ¶8. (C) (((Note: The United National Party - "UNP," the key constituent element of the UNF, also benefits from a long-standing network of pro-UNP temples, especially in the Colombo area. These temples, which are quite rich due to the patronage of business executives, provide important support to the UNP by lending the party sterling Buddhist credentials. Important pro-UNP temples in the Colombo area include Gangarama and Kelaniya. End Note.) ¶9. (C) COMMENT: Buddhist monastic opinion has been historically a crucial factor in post-independence Sri Lanka. Buddhist monks, for example, helped push forward the pan-Sinhalese majoritarian politics that afflicted the country for decades, helping spark the civil conflict that remains unsettled to this day. Through public statements and violent demonstrations, monks also helped derail the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord. At this time, it is unclear whether various societal factors, including increased economic wealth, have served to diminish the clergy's influence through the years. Nonetheless, in a Buddhist majority country where monks are still widely admired, the monks remain a key group that the GSL needs to placate if the peace process is going to succeed. END COMMENT. ¶10. (U) Minimize considered. WILLS