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