Sri Lanka
Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera calls on religious leaders to donate wealth to aid country through economic crisis
People take part in a demonstration organized by the National People’s Power party in Colombo on March 23 against rising living costs. (Photo: Ishara Kodikara/AFP)
A senior Buddhist monk has urged temples and churches to donate part of their wealth to the Sri Lankan government to help the country through its economic crisis.
Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera has called on all religious leaders to donate some of the wealth from places of worship to the state treasury to help the country recover.
“We are confident that depositing resources, especially gold, in the treasury will give us some strength to overcome the economic crisis in the country,” Ven. Sobhitha Thera said on March 22.
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Sri Lanka is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis with falling reserves, rising prices of goods and a debt crisis.
Long queues can be seen in front of gas stations and shops nationwide. The country is also facing power cuts several hours each day.
Sri Lanka’s inflation rate has hit 17.5 percent, the highest ever recorded in the history of the island nation. The government has requested a US$2.5 billion loan from China.
“When the government of Thailand faced an economic crisis during the world economic crisis, the monks came forward and handed over the wealth of their temples to the government”
Ven. Sobhitha Thera said if the wealth of places of worship is donated to the treasury, it will benefit the people in the future.
The monk observed that Thailand set a precedent for such a move in 2007.
“When the government of Thailand faced an economic crisis during the world economic crisis, the monks came forward and handed over the wealth of their temples to the government. In particular, the gold held by the respective institutions was handed over to the state treasury,” said the monk.
The Buddhist prelate urged the government to formulate a national policy to provide relief to people affected by the economic crisis.
Canada and the United Kingdom have warned their citizens about the dire economic situation in Sri Lanka leading to shortages of basic necessities like food, fuel and medicines.
People have been queuing for miles to buy kerosene, diesel and petrol all over the country until midnight. Military troops have been deployed to fuel stations to oversee the distribution of fuel.
Linus Fernando, a Christian lay leader fighting for the rights of the 2019 Easter attack victims, said they have no faith in politicians to offer such things.
“We suffer today because of the politicians and their mishandling and corruption. They are entirely responsible for the crisis in the country. All the political leaders who rule this country made wrong decisions,” he said.
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