New party with all-monk candidate slate

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000564

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL/IRF, INR/NESA

NSC FOR E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/14
TAGS: PGOV PINR SOCI PHUM CE
SUBJECT: New party with all-monk candidate slate
reportedly making inroads ahead of April 2 election

Refs: (A) FBIS Reston Va DTG 280356Z Mar 04

- (B) Colombo 557, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In an unprecedented move, the JHU, a
new political party, is fielding an all-Buddhist monk
slate of candidates. While its platform is vague, the
party is basically anti-peace process. It has also
taken a tough stance against corruption. The JHU effort
has drawn flak from the Buddhist hierarchy, which
believes that monks should not engage in politics. On
the hustings, the party has drawn good crowds and some
observers believe it could pick up anywhere from 2-5
seats. If the JHU does well in the April 2 election, it
could be a player during post-election maneuvering. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) ALL-MONK CANDIDATE SLATE: As flagged in Ref B,
the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party is fielding an all-
Buddhist monk slate of candidates. (The English
translation of the party's name is "National Heritage
Party." The JHU is a new party, but is closely linked
to the Sihala Urumaya party, which is not participating
in this election.) The party is running over 200 monk-
candidates in the southern part of the country. The
JHU's move is unprecedented in Sri Lanka, where Buddhist
monks -- with some notable exceptions -- have usually
steered away from overt involvement in politics (see
more below). After a handful of attempts in previous
decades, it was not until the 2001 parliamentary
election, for example, that a monk was elected to
Parliament. (This monk, Ven. Baddegama Samitha, is
running again. He is not a member of the JHU, but runs
as a candidate of a leftist party aligned with the
President's United People's Freedom Alliance, "UPFA.")
The JHU has a rather amorphous leadership structure.
Its nominal leaders include the Ven. Ellawela
Medhananda, the Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka, and the Ven.
Athurelia Ratana.


3. (C) ANTI-PEACE PROCESS IN THRUST: In making its
run, the JHU has not aligned itself with either the UPFA
or the Prime Minister's United National Party (UNP). In
general, the themes that the JHU has focused on during
the campaign have been similar to those held by the
radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)(which is part of
the UPFA coalition). The JHU is highly skeptical of
attempts to negotiate with the Tamil Tigers and has
bitterly attacked the UNP government's peace moves, for
example. Like the JVP, the JHU has also taken a strong
stance against corruption, charging that many UNP
ministers have taken bribes, etc. In another similarity
to JVP positioning, the JHU has also taken an anti-
globalization posture, which sometimes verges on the
xenophobic. (See Ref A in which JHU monks reportedly
criticized Coca-Cola and McDonald's for "cultural
pollution.")


4. (C) DISAPPROVAL FROM BUDDHIST HIERARCHY: A key
aspect of the JHU's campaign also involves its
explanation of why it is running an all-Buddhist monk
slate. According to the JHU, Sri Lanka is mired down
with a "criminal class of politicians" who are enriching
themselves and not solving the country's problems. This
demands, per the JHU's logic, that Buddhist monks become
involved in politics to rescue the country and return
Sri Lanka to "a righteous state." The JHU's claims have
been very controversial within Sri Lanka's Buddhist
community. The most important pillars of the Buddhist
hierarchy, the Kandy-based heads of the Malwatte and
Asgiriya monastic orders, have rejected the notion of
Buddhist monks running for office and engaging in
politics. (FYI. Buddhist religious leaders clearly
monitor national events closely. As is their
predilection, however, they usually do not discuss
politics explicitly, but prefer to make coded --
sometimes cryptic -- references to such matters.) Both
Mahanayakes (senior clerics) of Malwatte and Asgiriya
have urged the JHU monks to return to their monasteries
and engage exclusively in religious activities. The JHU
monks have refused to do so. (The monastic orders have
not threatened to take ecclesiastical action against the
JHU monks. Because of the relatively loose nature of
hierarchical control in Sri Lanka, the Malwatte and
Asgiriya orders apparently have no explicit authority to
defrock the JHU monks over this particular matter in any
case. Moreover, some of the JHU monks are members of
other smaller orders and are not subject to Malwatte and
Asgiriya control.)


5. (C) JHU SEEMS TO HAVE SOME MOMENTUM: Despite the
controversy over its all-monk slate, the JHU's campaign
has been a very active one and has drawn good crowds.
While it is very hard to tell, some observers believe
the party could pick up anywhere from 2-5 seats in
Parliament. (Several observers believe the party could
win as many as 8-9 seats, but this higher figure is
widely discounted.) The gain of even one seat for the
JHU would be a big event for a new party. (FYI: The
JHU's close ally, the Sihala Urumaya, did very poorly in
the last election in December 2001, winning no seats.)
There is some debate as to where the JHU's votes will
come from: some believe that the party, due to its
anti-peace process stance, may take away support that
would otherwise go to the UPFA, especially the JVP.
Other observers believe that the JHU will reap its
biggest gains among undecided voters, who are
disgruntled with the larger parties for various reasons.


6. (C) COMMENT: The April 2 election will probably be
a close one. If the election is close and the JHU wins
some seats, the party could be a player during post-
election maneuvering. It is also possible that the JHU
could be a big dud on election day. There are signs
that many Sri Lankans are not receptive to the JHU --
some recent poll results, for example, have indicated
that a huge majority of those polled (Buddhists and non-
Buddhists) completely reject the idea of monks running
for office. On the societal side, the JHU's impact on
Buddhism as it has been practiced in Sri Lanka is
uncertain, but there is clearly a debate raging in the
temples. END COMMENT.


7. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD