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Tamil MPs question alleged inaction on monk’s racist outburst
ECONOMYNEXT –Legislators representing Sri Lanka’s Tamil community have questioned alleged police inaction on a Buddhist monk accused of inciting “racial hatred and violence”.
Opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran writing to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on Friday October 27 said Mangalaramaya Ampitiya Sumana Thero has threatened to cut Tamils living in Sri Lanka’s south “to pieces”.
“Ven Sumana Thera has repeatedly attacked TNA Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and has also gone on to explicitly threaten all the Tamils living in the south, stating that he will cut them to pieces,” said Sumanthiran in his letter to the chief of police.
The MP said the monk’s remark is “blatantly an offence” punishable under Sections 3(1) and (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No 56 of 2007.
“Why has the police not taken immediate action against the said venerable thera?” the MP asked.
Sumanthiran’s TNA colleague Rasamanickam tweeted Friday morning that action taken or not taken on the matter will demonstrate whether the use of the ICCPR Act is selective.
“Action taken/not taken on this matter will show us if the ICCPR Act is only to be used against those opposed to the government, Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka or if it is against hate speech,” he said.
The comments from the TNA MPs came after a video of the monk making the vitriolic remarks went viral on social media. Videos of angry outbursts by the same monk have gone viral in the past.
This particular incident reportedly occurred after a cemetery said to have been the final resting place of Sinhalese people who lived in an area of Batticaloa was allegedly bulldozed, which had angered the monk.
Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) MP Mano Ganesan also questioned the monk’s behaviour.
“If he has an issue with the MP of the area and municipal commissioner, there are channels to address such grievances. But here he’s inciting racial hatred and violence. This is unacceptable and disgusting,” Ganesan tweeted Thursday evening.
“Isn’t this in clear breach of ICCPR Act Section 3? Over to Mr President,” he said.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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