Letter to the President from  Ittapana Dhammalankara Thera on the Trincomalee Buddha Statue

2026-02-10 - 16:49

Ven. Itthepana Dhammalankara Kotte Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha Maha Nayake Thera has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing deep concern and regret over the imprisonment of ten individuals, including Buddhist monks, following the issue that arose in connection with the installation of a Buddha statue at the Bodhirajaramaya in Trincomalee. The Maha Nayake Thera further states that Sri Lanka is a land that has, throughout successive periods, been dedicated to the Buddha Sasana by ancient kings. The letter also notes that, apart from opposition raised by a group including a Tamil diaspora Member of Parliament and a government MP, no other individual, nationally or religiously, has expressed any objection to the installation of the relevant Buddha statue in Trincomalee. It further states that the monks who installed the Buddha statue possess a legally valid right to the Bodhirajaramaya temple, and that a Bo sapling has already been planted at the site, where acts of worship and veneration are currently being conducted.