Maha Nayakas take PM to task
By Ravi Ladduwahetty- January 28, 2014
The Malwatte and Asgiriya Maha Nayakas have been taking Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, to task for some time now, over the delay in the implementation of the six proposed Buddhist Acts of Parliament, deemed as being beneficial for Buddhists and Buddhism.
Leading Buddhist organizations have also joined the fray in pressing Prime Minister Jayaratne for the implementation of these laws which have been long overdue, political sources told Ceylon Today, last night.
Buddhist clergy and Buddhist organizations have also demanded to know from the Prime Minister the reason for the delay, and the Prime Minister, in turn, has asked officials for a written explanation.
The six acts are amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Act and five other new acts relating to the maintenance of the Buddha Sasana, regulations of Buddhist monks, dasa sil mathas and the formation of Chapters such as Malwatte and Asgiriya. However, Buddha Sasana Ministry Secretary, M.K.B. Dissanayake, said the English names of the proposed pieces of Law have not been formulated as yet.
He said these Acts were to provide legal impetus to those who violate the Constitutional provision which states that Buddhism should be given the pride of place in the country.
He also said that some of the other Acts would also regulate the operations of the dasa sil mathas and Dhamma schools. "There will also be regulations on publication of Buddhist and Buddhism-related material," he said.
The Sinhala names are Sasanarakshaka Panatha, the Dasa Sil Matha Panatha, the Dasa Sil Meni Arama Panatha and Kathikawath Panatha. There is also the Buddhist Publications and Regulations Act.
Dissanayake said that there was no deliberate delay in the implementation of these pieces of law, but procedural delays due to the need to obtain approval from all stakeholders which process was time consuming.
As for the amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Act, Dissanayake said that the procedure was to submit a concept paper to the Cabinet and on approval, the papers had to go to the Legal Draftsman and then the Attorney-General's Department, and once again to the Cabinet. He said that once it went to the Cabinet, the paper had to be reviewed and observed by a three-member Cabinet sub-committee and it was then that the Draft Bill was presented to Parliament.
He added that the implementation of the other laws also require the overall consensus of all stakeholders such as the Maha Sangha, Buddhist organizations, the Attorney-General's Department and the Legal Draftsman's Department, which was the real reason for the operational delays.
By Ravi Ladduwahetty- January 28, 2014The Malwatte and Asgiriya Maha Nayakas have been taking Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, to task for some time now, over the delay in the implementation of the six proposed Buddhist Acts of Parliament, deemed as being beneficial for Buddhists and Buddhism.
Leading Buddhist organizations have also joined the fray in pressing Prime Minister Jayaratne for the implementation of these laws which have been long overdue, political sources told Ceylon Today, last night.
Buddhist clergy and Buddhist organizations have also demanded to know from the Prime Minister the reason for the delay, and the Prime Minister, in turn, has asked officials for a written explanation.
The six acts are amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Act and five other new acts relating to the maintenance of the Buddha Sasana, regulations of Buddhist monks, dasa sil mathas and the formation of Chapters such as Malwatte and Asgiriya. However, Buddha Sasana Ministry Secretary, M.K.B. Dissanayake, said the English names of the proposed pieces of Law have not been formulated as yet.
He said these Acts were to provide legal impetus to those who violate the Constitutional provision which states that Buddhism should be given the pride of place in the country.
He also said that some of the other Acts would also regulate the operations of the dasa sil mathas and Dhamma schools. "There will also be regulations on publication of Buddhist and Buddhism-related material," he said.
The Sinhala names are Sasanarakshaka Panatha, the Dasa Sil Matha Panatha, the Dasa Sil Meni Arama Panatha and Kathikawath Panatha. There is also the Buddhist Publications and Regulations Act.
Dissanayake said that there was no deliberate delay in the implementation of these pieces of law, but procedural delays due to the need to obtain approval from all stakeholders which process was time consuming.
As for the amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Act, Dissanayake said that the procedure was to submit a concept paper to the Cabinet and on approval, the papers had to go to the Legal Draftsman and then the Attorney-General's Department, and once again to the Cabinet. He said that once it went to the Cabinet, the paper had to be reviewed and observed by a three-member Cabinet sub-committee and it was then that the Draft Bill was presented to Parliament.
He added that the implementation of the other laws also require the overall consensus of all stakeholders such as the Maha Sangha, Buddhist organizations, the Attorney-General's Department and the Legal Draftsman's Department, which was the real reason for the operational delays.
