Two JHU Bhikku parliamentarians said missing

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 20:16 GMT]
The mystery over two missing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarians took a dramatic turn Wednesday when the leadership of the JHU threatened the ruling United Peoples' Freedom Alliance that it would not support the UPFA government even if it brought progressive pieces of legislation in the new parliament, political sources said.

The JHU accused the UPFA for the disappearance of its two parliamentarians. Venerable Kataluwe Ratanasiya Thera from Colombo district and Venerable Aparekke Pangnanadana Thera from Gampaha district.

The Secretary General of the parliament, Ms. Priyani Wijesekara, Monday received the resignation letters of these two parliamentarians. However these parliamentarians had later reportedly met with parliamentary officials and informed them that they were not resigning, sources said.

According to parliamentary procedure, an elected member seeking to resign before the election of the Speaker has to prove his or her identity to the Secretary General. But in this instance the two monks have failed to meet this requirement, sources said.

The JHU's Propaganda Secretary, Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, has alleged that the two Bhikku parliamentarians had gone missing and JHU believed some political party, "probably the UPFA," was hiding them for political motives, sources said.

JHU leaders Tuesday met with the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, over the issue of the missing parliamentarians. But she is reported to have told the JHU leaders that her party was not behind their disappearance, political sources said.