COLOMBO: Hundreds of Buddhist monks rallied in the capital of Sri Lanka on Friday to protest alleged government disrespect of their religion and disregard for a long-standing tradition that they be consulted in matters of state.
The protest passed without any reported violence.
The constitution of the island nation of around 22 million people states that Buddhism is the state religion, though freedom of religion is protected by law. The charter also states that the government has an obligation to protect and foster Buddhism.
More than 70 percent of the population is Buddhist and their clergy are influential in social, cultural and political affairs. There are also minority Hindus, Muslims and Christians living in Sri Lanka.
The monks at the protest in Colombo read out an appeal note they said would be sent to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The note said the responsibility of the government in the island nation is to base its values on the principles of Buddhism, which emerged in the 5th century B.C. in ancient India, and recognize the right of the clergy to counsel in the affairs of the state.
It also urged for excluding non-Buddhists from top office in Sri Lanka, incorporating Buddhist values in schools and the education system and protecting all archaeological sites connected to the religion.
The appeal is likely part of the efforts by the monks to pressure the government.
Buddhist monks rally in Sri Lanka to pressure the government for a wider role in affairs of state
https://arab.news/65kfm
Buddhist monks rally in Sri Lanka to pressure the government for a wider role in affairs of state
- The protest passed without any reported violence
- The charter also states that the government has an obligation to protect and foster Buddhism
US Republicans back Trump on Iran strikes, block bid to rein in war powers
- Republicans blocked prior efforts to curb Trump’s war powers
- Prolonged war could affect November mid-term elections
WASHINGTON: US Senate Republicans backed President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran on Wednesday, voting to block a bipartisan resolution aiming to stop the air war and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress.
As voting continued, the tally in the 100-member Senate was 52 to 47 not to advance the resolution, largely along party lines, with almost every Republican voting against the procedural motion and almost every Democrat supporting it.
The latest effort by Democrats and a few Republicans to rein in President Donald Trump’s repeated foreign troop deployments, sponsors described the war powers resolution as a bid to take back Congress’ responsibility to declare war, as spelled out in the US Constitution.
Opponents rejected this, insisting that Trump’s action was legal and within his right as commander in chief to protect the United States by ordering limited strikes.
“This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly,” Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech against the resolution.
The measure had not been expected to succeed. Trump’s fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and have blocked previous resolutions seeking to curb his war powers.
US Senator Ted Cruz speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2026, ahead of the vote on a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran. (AFP)
