Army gives best treatment for Samanthabadra
Pitiduwe Siridhamma, aka Samanthabadra, toured Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Kataragama areas recently along with his disciples. It was not a pilgrimage, but an excursion. What is disturbing is that the Army gave him all the facilities. On the Army commander’s instructions, the regional Army headquarters in Hambantota provided food, accommodation and transport facilities as well as protection, say Army sources.
The touring group was opposed by Buddhist monks of the area and they did not spare the Army either for having facilitated the visit. But, they did not show their opposition in public.
Senior Army officers are displeased over their chief’s having come forward to provide facilities and protection for persons in private visits. He has no legal or ethical right to have issued the orders, they say.