Sri Lankan government today said it will send a delegation to meet the country's powerful Buddhist monks to clarify the reasons behind the detention of former army chief Sarath Fonseka after they asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to release the "gallant officer".
"The government will be soon sending a delegation to (Central) Kandy to meet the Mahanayakas of the four chapters to clarify the situation," Maitripala Sirisena, the General Secretary of the main ruling coalition party, Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) told reporters.
He said the government would explain the circumstances that led to the arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka. "We will send a delegation to Kandy to give explanation to the Mahanayakas on the matter," the leader said in a prompt response to the appeal from the monks.
The Mahanayaka Theras of the four Chapters, in a letter on Saturday had asked Rajapaksa to "retract the charges levelled against Fonseka and release him from custody and also provide him with adequate security."
The clergy had appealed to Rajapaksa to release Fonseka from custody, saying it was "unacceptable" to arrest a "gallant officer", who played a key role in defeating LTTE, due to "petty political differences".
Rejecting the Opposition charges that the former army chief and defeated opposition Presidential candidate's arrest was a "political revenge," Sirisena said, he while serving in the army had violated the norms by interacting with the political parties.
The Buddhist monks are highly respected by politicians and civilians alike in the predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, and their intervention could affect the government's plan to try Fonseka in a military court.
Earlier this week, the 'Mahanayakes' convened a meeting of Buddhist monks and decided that on February 18, their 'Maha Sangha' would pass a resolution pertaining to the present political developments in the country.
He said as a result Fonseka was detained under the Army Act as he had violated the army rules.
In a letter addressed to the President, the 'Mahanayakes' or the Buddhist religious leaders said the monks' grouping 'Maha Sangha' has throughout its long history come forward to help resolve grave national issues, including conflicts among the rulers.
The government can "surely overlook the alleged offences committed by a man who made enormous sacrifices to unite and safeguard the territorial integrity of the country," the letter said.
The Buddhist clergy has always come forward to settle disputes between various people of the country regardless of their status and this tradition has prompted it to seek the release of Fonseka.