Opposition party accuses government of dividing Buddhist monks

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has accused the government of encouraging divisions among Buddhist monks. General secretary Sagara Kariyawasam made the claims at a party press conference and called on the president to protect Buddhist institutions. The allegations are his political assessment, not findings by a court or an independent inquiry.

Kariyawasam referred to the removal of a monk's robes and the subsequent protest march from Kandy towards Colombo. He alleged that pressure had been applied to religious institutions not to provide food or accommodation to participants. The report did not provide independent confirmation of that account.

He also cited disputes around the Presidential Secretariat, Viharamahadevi Park and Anuradhapura. He claimed that monks had faced obstruction and attacks and questioned whether people associated with the governing party were deliberately provoking confrontations. Responsibility for those incidents is not established by his statement.

The party official described division within the Buddhist community as a grave religious wrong and said the president should bear responsibility. No immediate government response was included in the report. His remarks are separate from statements by government figures about relations with the clergy and should not be treated as an agreed account of events.