A Buddhist monk and parliamentarian vowed that the island’s Buddhist clergy would not allow the international community to harm Sri Lanka, reports The Island.

Addressing a news conference organised by the National Sangha Council, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) MP Athuraliye Ratana called on Sri Lanka’s chief Buddhist monks to unite and beat back a proposed bill relating to the Buddhist clergy.

He called on the Mahanayake Theras of the three Nikayas on the island to unite against the bill, stating “we are at a loss to understand why the government embarked on bringing in a Bill of this nature”.

The MP went on to add that the Maha Sangha in Sri Lanka would not allow the international community or anyone else to harm the country.

Hundreds of acres of land in Kilinochchi have been illegally sold to Sinhalese, locals have claimed.

Fraudulent documentation has been used so far to sell around 860 acres of land in villages in Poonakari, Kilinochchi.

A former army officer that served in Thenmaradchi is also understood to have bought several million rupees worth of land in the area.

The European Union trade delegation, currently visiting Sri Lanka for discussion regarding the regaining of GSP+, met with the Tamil National Alliance on Wednesday.