#  Marxist Monks Impact Politics 

 





June 09, 2005

 

 

Source: Yahoo! News

Wire Service: AFP

[http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050609/wl\_sthasia\_afp/srilankapoliticsmonks\_050609054115](http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050609/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankapoliticsmonks_050609054115)

On June 9, 2005 *Agence France-Presse* reported, "Sri Lanka, regarded as a repository of Theravada Buddhism and seen as upholding the orthodox branch of the religion for over 2,500 years, is emerging as a hotbed of Marxist monks. Saffron-robed monks lead political demonstrations providing colour and content and give more than spiritual power to parties, even though the Buddhist majority nation faces a severe shortage of clergymen for theological work. All mainstream Sinhalese-majority political groups have a band of Buddhist monks loyal to them, including the Marxist JVP, or People's Liberation Front, which is usually in the forefront of public demonstrations. While the religion considers suicide a sin, Buddhist monks are increasingly threatening to kill themselves to press their political demands. A JVP-backed group has threatened to launch a fast-unto-death campaign from the weekend to protest government plans for an aid sharing deal with Tiger rebels."



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Advocacy/Government ](/news-stories/advocacygovernment)
- [ Sri Lanka ](/news-stories/sri-lanka)
- [ Religious Freedom ](/news-stories/religious-freedom)
- [ Buddhism ](/religions/buddhism)
- [ Civic ](/tags/civic)
- [ International ](/tags/international)
 
 

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