Group of Buddhist monks who visited the residence of Eastern provincial council Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed, staged a protest against reprimanding a Navy officer.
Reports indicated that a group of monks including Deputy Chief Sangha-nayake of Eastern province – Chief incumbent of Batticaloa Mangalarama Vihara Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera were among the protestors.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi has stated that a decision has been taken to ban the Eastern provincial Chief Minister from entering any military camp in the island.
The Defence Secretary further noted that the decision was taken to protest against the Chief Minister for reprimanding a Naval officer in public.
The incident took place on the 20th of this month, when Eastern provincial council Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed reprimanded a navy officer who was remaining close to the stage, during a prize giving ceremony held at Trincomalee Sampoor Maha Vidyalaya.
The event was organized by the navy.
The Chief Minister reprimanded the naval officer, charging that he was not treated according to the procedures.
It was noted that Governor of Eastern province Austin Fernando and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka were present at the occasion when the incident took place.
The Defence Secretary noted that a report pertaining to the matter has been handed over to the President and the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has released a communiqué, condemning the incident.
In his communiqué, the former President stated that an investigation should be conducted with regard to the incident and the attitude of the Eastern provincial Chief Minister.
The Former President also recalled the incident where a group of TNA politicians attempting to forcibly enter a military camp, charging that no action was taken concerning the matter.
In addition, the former President stated that a scheme is underway to debase the dignity of the war heroes since the beginning of previous year.
Meanwhile, the chief incumbent of Mangalarama Vihara, questioned the Eastern provincial Chief Minister, whether he was ready to apologize.
However, according to our correspondent, the Chief Minister has not offered a direct response.
