Tuesday, 15 October 2013 00:15
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The monk who spearheaded the fight for clean drinking water in Weliweriya says he had decided to suspend his campaign in light of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka.
Speaking at a press briefing the venerable Theripehe Siridhamma Thera said that he is not ready to leave room for the international community to point fingers at Sri Lanka during the summit by staging protests in Weliweriya.
He also insisted that acting wisely is by no means a defeat of the campaign which was launched over a gloves factory in the Weliweriya area.
The monk had earlier led residents to demand the closure of the factory after it was believed that chemicals from the factory was contaminating ground water in a wide area around the factory.
The monk now says he has been made to understand the factory has been given orders from 70 countries till 2025 and so the factory was given six months to respond to its commitments.
“If people are getting water and the factory has assured it will move from here then what is there to demand for further,” the monk said.
He said that there should not be any violence when the Commonwealth leaders arrive in Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth summit next month. (Colombo Gazette)
