Saturday, 19th July 2014
The Government says the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) is not being protected or given special treatment by President Mahinda Rajapaksa or Government authorities.
Mohan Samaranayake, Spokesman for President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was quoted by CNN as saying there was “no protection or special treatment” for the BBS from the Government, including Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Anyone who broke the law would face the consequences, he said.
“Even the Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary was questioned” over the events that took place in Aluthgama, said Samaranayake. “Investigations are still ongoing. I cannot predict the outcome.”
For his part, the General Secretary of the BBS Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara rejected the suggestion that the BBS was in any way culpable for the violence, telling CNN at the group’s Colombo headquarters that it had “no involvement” in the incidents at Aluthgama.
“On the contrary, our organisation was trying to defuse the tension after a monk was assaulted by a group of Muslim youths,” he said. “We continue to be blamed for the incidents and portrayed as Sinhala extremists. This is unfair and incorrect.”
Gnanasara was among a group of monks that visited the Ministry of Mass Media and Information Wednesday to file a complaint about news coverage of the Aluthgama incident, alleging the reports had disrespected Buddhism, Sri Lankan media reported.
(Colombo Gazette)
From : http://www.ft.lk/2014/07/19/govt-claims-bbs-not-protected/
