SL State backs Christian persecution, 30 churches attacked this year: World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission (RLC),
which is a network of churches in 129 countries, in a ‘Research and
Analysis’ report issued on Monday observed that Sri Lanka “appears to be
seeking to establish social and political supremacy of the Sinhala
Buddhist majority within a unitary state,” in the ‘post-war resurgence’
of Sihala Buddhist nationalism that no longer threatens only the Tamils,
but also religious minorities, particularly Christians and Muslims.
“The resurgence of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism can be attributed to the
defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009, which by some was seen as a victory
of Buddhism over Tamil nationalism,” the report said. This year thus
far, at least 30 churches have reported being attacked. Last year, Sri
Lanka witnessed 52 incidents of Christian persecution.
“Besides, the end of the war led to contemplations over the identity of
the state, giving space to promotion of nationalism. This also helps the
government to legitimize the brutal military force it used in the war
and the tens of thousands of civilian casualties that occurred as a
result. This explains why the government is building Buddhist temples
and shrines in Hindu-majority areas in the north and the east, where the
war took place.
The report, giving examples of the persecution
against Hindu, Muslim and Christian persecution in the island, urged the
international community to act sooner than later.
However, the
report fails in directly pointing out the fact that the Sinhala Buddhist
extremism, which it reports today as resurging, is in fact a result of
the injustice caused by the influential sections of the same
international community that backed the genocidal onslaught on the
nation of Eezham Tamils, Tamil Christian circles in the island
commented.
Full text of the report by the WEA-RLC follows:
WEA-RLC Research and Analysis Report: Why Christian Persecution is Worrisome in Sri Lanka
Four
years after its military victory over Tamil Tigers, Sri Lanka appears
to be seeking to establish social and political supremacy of the Sinhala
Buddhist majority within a unitary state, instead of bringing about
reconciliation. And this post-war resurgence of nationalism no longer
threatens only the Tamil ethnic minority, but also religious minorities,
particularly Christians and Muslims.
While attacks on Muslims
have hit the headlines in some foreign media in recent months, the
increasing incidence of Christian persecution has received little
attention internationally.
The Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power
Force or BBS) and the Sinhala Ravaya (Sinhala Echo) – currently the most
active Buddhist Right-wing groups which claim to protect the country’s
Sinhalese-Buddhist character – have led numerous attacks on Christians
and churches.
This year thus far, at least 30 churches have
reported being attacked. Last year, Sri Lanka witnessed 52 incidents of
Christian persecution.
It’s not just these “non-state” actors,
but authorities are also targeting churches. Many churches have reported
that administrative and police officials have ordered them not to
operate any longer because they have not been “authorized” by the state.
While
registration of religious organizations is not mandatory in Sri Lanka,
the government has been contemplating bringing all religious groups
under regulation for over a year. Churches last year complained they
received a circular stating that all new constructions or continuation
of places of worship will need prior approval from the Ministry of
Religious Affairs.
Authorities are targeting particularly
non-traditional or evangelical churches, apparently due to the suspicion
that they might become part of the country’s civil society and pose a
threat to the incumbent government in the future.
According to
the 2011 census, more than 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20.8
million is Buddhist. Christians are about 7.5 percent, and Muslims a
little less than 10 percent. About 80 percent of the Christians are
Catholics, and the rest are Protestants. About 40 percent of the
Protestants are ethnic Tamils.
Evangelical Christians are being
portrayed as enemies of the majority community. For example, the BBS
organized a large gathering in Colombo in February, where a prominent
leader of the group called on Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcom
Ranjith to create a Catholic force of his own against evangelical
Christians “who were attempting to perpetuate Christian extremism in the
country.”
The hate campaign against Muslims and Christians has
been so fierce and frequent that sections of the people are seemingly
convinced that hapless religious minorities can actually threaten the
interests of the powerful majority community.
Last month, a
30-year-old Buddhist monk set himself alight in the central city of
Kandy to protest against the slaughter of cattle and “conversion of
Buddhists” by Christians. Later, about 200 Buddhists, supposedly
supporters of the BBS, blocked traffic in Colombo, demanding state
funeral for the monk. While the mob eventually dispersed without their
demand being met, they vowed to keep up pressure on the government to
stop the slaughter of animals and ensure there were no “unethical
religious conversions.”
The BBS was founded in July 2012 by two
Buddhist monks, who were formerly with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a
political party of monks and part of the ruling alliance. The two monks
left the JHU, saying the party was not militant enough to protect
Buddhism.
The Sinhala Ravaya was also founded by a group of
Buddhist monks in recent months, and is believed to be headed by a
former parliamentarian from the JHU. The group has publicly supported
top officials of the government.
Leaders and members of the BBS
and the Sinhala Ravaya are apparently being backed by authorities, as
they have openly spread hatred against the religious minorities and
launched attacks on them with almost complete impunity.
Azath
Salley, leader of the newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance and
former deputy mayor of Colombo who is known for criticizing the BBS and
the current government, was arrested last month under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act for “inciting religious disharmony” by giving an interview
to a magazine in neighbouring India.
Salley had spoken against a
March 28 attack by BBS monks on a Muslim-owned clothing warehouse,
Fashion Bug, near Colombo. A mob of about 500 people had vandalized
Fashion Bug, injuring at least six people.
The resurgence of
Sinhala Buddhist nationalism can be attributed to the defeat of the
Tamil Tigers in 2009, which by some was seen as a victory of Buddhism
over Tamil nationalism. Besides, the end of the war led to
contemplations over the identity of the state, giving space to promotion
of nationalism. This also helps the government to legitimize the brutal
military force it used in the war and the tens of thousands of civilian
casualties that occurred as a result. This explains why the government
is building Buddhist temples and shrines in Hindu-majority areas in the
north and the east, where the war took place.
Moreover, the
government appears to be desperate to garner popular support – on which
the survival of some top officials depends in the post-war scenario – by
aggressively pursuing Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.
If the
propaganda against Christians and Muslims carries on unabated and the
government continues to provide impunity to Buddhist groups, the space
for religious minorities to practise their basic freedoms is likely to
shrink much further. The International community needs to act sooner
than later.
Chronology:
External Links:
| WEA-RLC: | WEA-RLC Research and Analysis Report: Why Christian Persecution is Worrisome in Sri Lanka |
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