Chief Prelates urge President, PM to resolve SAITM issue promptly

The Mahanayake Theras (Chief Prelates) of the four Buddhist Chapters have urged President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to promptly resolve the controversial issue regarding the operation of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine in Malabe.

In a letter sent to both, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the Chief Prelates raised concerns and said the delay in addressing the issue will be harmful to the country.

They said that the issue has been dragging too long and it has made a debilitating impact on the health and education sectors.

The Chief Prelates noted that the parents of students of state universities and SAITM have raised concerns of the on-going crisis and urged the leaders of the government to intervene and provide a proper solution to the delaying issues surrounding SAITM.

The letter called on the President to and Prime Minister to meet with the student activists and parent groups in order to provide a solution acceptable to all stakeholders based on the recommendations forwarded by the eight Medical Faculty Deans of state universities.

The Chief Prelate of the Malwathu Chapter most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera, Chief Prelate of the Asgiri chapter Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, the Chief Prelate of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Nikaya most Venerable Napana Pemasiri Thera and the Supreme Mahanayake of Amarapura Nikaya Venerable Kotugoda Dhammawasa Thera, have signed the letter.