The Hindu : International : Two monks hospitalised after brawl in Sri Lankan Parliament

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Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

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International

Two monks hospitalised after brawl in Sri Lankan Parliament

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, JUNE 8. Chaos and disorder ruled the Sri Lankan Parliament today over the swearing-in of a Buddhist monk as an MP. The entire day's proceedings were marred after a brawl in the well of the Parliament. In the melee, the ceremonial mace, which symbolises the progress of a session, was taken away, reportedly by a member of the ruling party, resulting in a four-hour halt to the proceedings. Two Buddhist monks were hospitalised.

The 225-member House did not transact business and was adjourned till next month. The minority government, led by United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the Opposition United National Party (UNP) blamed each other for the declining Parliamentary standards.

Disorder hit Parliament as soon as it met for the day and the Speaker, W.J.M. Lokubandara, invited a Buddhist monk, Ven. Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera, to take his oath as an MP from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), in the place of another monk who had resigned his seat.

Treasury members, led by the Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, objected, citing a court order restraining Ven. Dayaratna, who was named by his party to replace Ven. Kataluwe Rathana Thero, who had put in his papers, but subsequently won a stay order on the grounds that his "resignation'' was obtained under duress.

Mr. Lokubandara, who is from the UNP, maintained that he had not received the court order and went ahead with the formalities. Ruling party members then rushed to the well of the House and blocked Ven. Dayaratna, who was, however, taken to the Speaker by an alterative route behind the Opposition benches.

At this stage, according to the UNP, "a ruling party member spirited the mace away," bringing the proceedings to a halt. Around 10.40 a.m., Mr. Lokubandara adjourned the House for 15 minutes and held a meeting of the party leaders, in an attempt to retrieve the mace. However, that adjournment was to last nearly four hours, till the mace was returned through the Treasury benches, around 2.20 p.m., after which Parliament was adjourned till July 20.

Trade charges

At separate press conferences after the Parliamentary pandemonium, the Government and the Opposition blamed each other for the declining standards of the unicameral legislature. Terming the events "very unfortunate," the Deputy Leader of the UNP, Karu Jayasuriya, said: "Parliament has met four times since April (when the newly-elected House was summoned). On all four days we have seen the deterioration. It is going from bad to worse."

The Opposition also blamed the ruling party for "assaulting two monks," a charge vehemently denied by the Government. "There was exchange of words, but no assault," Mr. Fernandopulle, a senior Minister in the UPFA Government, told another press conference.

On the hospitalised monks, Mr. Fernandopulle said: "Anyone can get hospitalised now," and maintained that "we did not assault them." Television news footage tonight showed the two monks in hospital, with "no external wounds, but possible internal injuries." The UNP said it did not know the nature of the injuries sustained by the monks, but condemned "the assault" by the Treasury benches.

`Ready to face polls'

The ruling party, which lost the Speaker's post by a margin of one vote on April 22, claimed that it could muster a majority in the House and said it was "ready to face the people any time." The Opposition, which also claims a majority in the House, said it would move for disciplinary proceedings against the ruling party MP who took the mace away, but said it had not decided on whether to go for a fresh poll.

Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, a new Parliament cannot be dissolved for one year, unless the House, by a majority, seeks dissolution or a Government loses two finance bills.

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