PROTEST IN COLOMBO AGAINST BURIAL OF COVID DEAD

by Staff Writer 28-12-2020 | 2:10 PM

Colombo (News 1st); Monks and Civil Organizations have requested the government not to bury COVID-19 victims.

The collective of monks and civil organizations staged a protest on Monday (28) morning opposite the Presidential Secretariat and handed over a letter to Health Minister Pavithra Vanniarachchi.

The letter states, the cremation of COVID-19 victims was legalized as per the recommendation made by the committee of experts appointed by the Health Ministry.

As the Supreme Court has approved the decision, there is a background in the country that all corona bodies should be cremated, it added.

The collective of monks and civil organizations requested the President not to take measures to bury COVID-19 victims by amending the existing law.

However, over the weekend, the Inter-Religious Subcommittee of the Sri Lanka Amarapura and Ramanna Samagri Maha Sangha Sabha has written to the President highlighting the need to bury the bodies of those who died of COVID-19.

In a statement, the Inter-Religious Subcommittee said Muslims and Christians follow the ritual of burying their dead, and this is enshrined in the constitution in Article 14 (1) as a fundamental right.

It went on to note, though cremation of COVID-19 victims was made mandatory via gazette on the 11th of April, considerable research on the matter had been carried out over the past 08 months.

The Inter-Religious Subcommittee of the Sri Lanka Amarapura and Ramanna Samagri Maha Sangha Sabha believes the burial of COVID-19 victims should be carried out subject to conditions and with research.

The Inter-Religious Subcommittee of the Sri Lanka Amarapura and Ramanna Samagri Maha Sangha Sabha has called on the President to convene an emergency meeting with Doctors, Virologists, PHIs, Religious Leaders, and other Stake Holders to discuss the matter.