Statement against the attacks on religious places by Buddhist extremist mobs

Thursday, 23 January 2014

A statement signed by persons below condemned the continued attacks on religious places of worship by uddhist e!tremist mobs, the inaction of the "olice and the silence of the mainstream religions and the mass media# $ee the statement below %e the undersigned, strongly condemn the continuing attacks on places of worship by uddhist e!tremist mobs, the inaction of the "olice in the face of these &iolent attacks and their failure to take the assailants into custody, and the silence of the established religious institutions and mainstream media# %e are outraged o&er the spate of &iolent attacks against places of worship of religious minorities, including those of 'hristians, (uslims and )indus, and remain deeply concerned at the apparent $tate complicity and le&el of impunity en*oyed by certain e!tremist groups# etween January to $eptember 2013, 22+ attacks against (uslim places of worship and other institutions,1- ha&e been recorded, and in the year 2013, 103 cases of attacks on 'hristian 'hurches and "astors ha&e been recorded#,2- .uring the same period many )indu temples too ha&e been attacked,3- around the country# The actual number of incidents is much higher, as many incidents remain unreported, due to fear of reprisals and the lack of confidence in law enforcement agencies# %e urge all communities to respect the religious beliefs and constitutionally guaranteed rights of freedom of assembly in the act of worship of their fellow citi/ens, and not to be misled by the bigoted propaganda of hate groups# The most recent attacks took place at around 10am, on January 12, 2014, when the Assemblies of 0od 1Ao02 and 'al&ary 'hurches in )ikkaduwa 10alle district2, were attacked by a 3003 strong mob led by men in saffron robes claiming to be 4 uddhist monks5, party to an e!tremist group named )ela odu "awra 1loosely translated as uddhist )eritage 6ortress2, during their $unday morning ser&ice# $erious damage was caused to the two buildings# $tones were also thrown at the premises while some worshippers were trapped inside# 7n the night before these attacks 1112, the pastors of both churches had recei&ed information of the impending attacks, and ha&ing informed the "olice, were guaranteed protection and instructed to go ahead with the

regular ser&ice of worship the following morning# $till the "olice was still unwilling or unable to stop the mobs from attacking these churches and further, refrained from using legally permitted minimum force at least, to dispel these mobs# 1)owe&er, on pre&ious instances, the police and security forces ha&e shown &ery little restraint in using ma!imum force such as tear gas and e&en gun fire, as e&ident during the 6ree Trade 8one,4- and %eliweriya,9- protests for instance#2 The &iolent mob alleged that these churches were not registered with the (inistry of uddha $asana and :eligious Affairs, and were therefore illegal# The tense situation pre&ailed past 12pm, with the "olice unwilling to disperse those engaged in these acts of &iolence# A senior police officer who arri&ed at the scene ga&e an assurance to the monks that the churches would be closed for 2 weeks 1until 10th 6ebruary, 20142, during which time the issue would be resol&ed# Thereafter, the mob had dispersed# ;n another incident earlier in the morning on the 12th at around 2#30am, a place of worship of the 6ours<uare 0ospel 'hurch in "itipana, )omagama, was set on fire by unidentified persons, and a threatening note was found hanging on the gate of the premises warning 'hristians who gather there of possible dire conse<uences# ,=7n the following day 1132, the "olice $pokesman $$" A*ith :ohana stated that the police ha&e compiled a report on the attacks and submitted a list of identified suspects 1inclusi&e of > monks2, to the courts, and that all in&estigations concerning protests and demonstrations related to religion will be handed o&er to the (inistry of uddha $asana and :eligious Affairs# ;t is ironic that in&estigati&e duties coming within the direct pur&iew of the "olice ha&e, in this instance, been handed o&er to the (inistry of uddha $asana and :eligious Affairs# This action is howe&er in keeping with the trend initiated by the (inistry of uddha $asana, in their 'ircular dated 1=th 7ctober, 200>, which calls on all new religious places of worship to obtain written appro&al from the (inistry prior to the setting up?maintaining of such places# This raises the troubling <uestion as to why a multi3ethnic and religious country must seek appro&al from a (inistry that clearly prioriti/es one religion o&er the rest, by its name alone# %hilst acknowledging that there must be a central and independent body to register?monitor churches and places of worship, we find there lies a conflict of interest in a (inistry tasked 1although not e!clusi&ely,2 to further uddhism, being the sole authority on appro&ing?registering other places of worship# The deafening silence on the part of mainstream religious institutions in relation to these attacks, is appalling, albeit not surprising, considering their unwillingness to show solidarity with each other and to confront the go&ernment, with the (uslim 'ouncil of $ri @anka being the one e!ception# %e welcome and reiterate the open letter published by the (uslim 'ouncil to "resident (ahinda :a*apakse calling on him to 4###order the law enforcement agencies to rein3in these mobs that infringe on the peoples fundamental right to worship# $hould there be any breach of law by any indi&idual or groups, we kindly urge that due process is followed and necessary legal action is taken without letting indi&iduals or religious groups to take the law in to their own hand#5 %e also note with growing concern that reaking Aews Alert $er&ice or mainstream media

institution has gi&en little or no co&erage to these attacks, or pre&ious attacks instigated by uddhist e!tremist groups# 6urther, we wish to highlight and commend the orders made by the 0alle Additional (agistrate to the )ikkaduwa "olice on 1=th January, and ask that they be implemented with immediate effect# The orders call on the "olice to arrest all identified suspects immediately, and all media institutions to pro&ide the police with unedited footage of the attacks, to assist with ongoing in&estigations# %e therefore urge law enforcement authorities to ensure strict adherence to rule of law and prosecute those who are responsible for these heinous crimes, in the e!istence of abundant e&idence a&ailable with the public and media organisations# ;n addition, we are &ery disturbed to see continued "olice inaction and delays in responding to incidents of racist mob &iolence, which is a clear indication of $tate complicity, and the lack of any interest by the newly minted (inistry of @aw and 7rder headed by the "resident, to hold perpetrators to account# $ignaturesB ;ndi&iduals 1# Ahilan Cadirgamar 2# A*it Abeysekera 3# Ameena )ussein 4# Anberiya )anifa 9# Anushan $el&ara*ah =# Anushaya 'ollure +# Asoka 7beyesekere ># # 0owthaman D# 10# 11# # $kanthakumar ha&ani 6onseka uddhima "admasiri

12# '# .issanayake 13# 'ayathri .i&akalala 14# 'hamira "erera 19# 'handralal 'olombage 1=# 'handrika .e $il&a 3 6reelance Journalist 1+# 'handula Cumbukage 1># .amaris %ickremesekera 1D# .eanne Eyangoda 20# .eborah "hilip 21# .e&ika Carunaratne

22# .ilhara "athirana 23# .ilshy anu 24# .r# 0# 'hris :odrigo 29# .r# (areena Thaha :effai 2=# .r# "aikiasothy $ara&anamuttu 2+# .r# $el&y Thiruchandran 2># Fmil &an der "oorten 2D# 6ai/un 8ackariya 30# 6ar/ana )aniffa 31# 0#A# "rabath Cumara 3 'hief 'oordinator, 6uture ;n 7ur )ands .e&elopment 6und , adulla 32# 0a*en (ahendra 33# 0odfrey Gogara*ah 3 F!ecuti&e .irector, :eligious 6reedom, %orld F&angelical Alliance 34# )erman Cumara 39# )ilmy Ahamed 3=# J# )enry de (el 3+# Jansila (a*eed 3># Jayasingam# T 3D# Jayatilaka Cammallaweera 40# Joe %illiam 41# Johann Tranchell 42# Jo&ita Arulanantham 43# C# :a*aledsumi 44# C#$# :atna&ale 49# Cumari Cumaragamage 4=# Cusal "erera H Journalist 4+# @akshan .ias H Attorney3at3@aw 4># (# )# (ohamed )isham 4D# (#A# (ohideen 90# (aduka "eiris 91# (ahalu!umi Curushanthan 92# (ahendran Thiru&arangan

93# (arisa de $il&a 94# (elisha Gapa 99# (ichael (endis 9=# (irak :aheem 9+# (ohammed (ahuruf 9># Aicola "erera 9D# Ailantha ;langamuwa =0# Ailshan 6onseka =1# Aimalka 6ernando =2# Airmanusan alasundaram =3# Aiyanthini Cadirgamar =4# "#A# $ingham =9# "admini %eerasooriya ==# "rof# Jayantha $ene&iratne 3 Eni&ersity of Celaniya =+# "rof# Cumar .a&id 3 (ar! $chool =># :#(# # $enanayake =D# :anil .# 0uneratne +0# :e&# 6r# Fmmanuel $ebamalai +1# :e&# 6r# Jeyabalan 'roos +2# :e&# 6r# Aandana (anatunga +3# :e&# 6r# :a&ichandran Fmmanuel +4# :e&# 6r# $arath ;ddamalgoda +9# :uki 6ernando +=# $# (# "ra&een H 7(; ++# $ampath $amarakoon +># $an*ana )attotuwa +D# $an*aya $enanayake >0# $hantha "athirana >1# $hreen Abdul $aroor >2# $ilma (ohideen Ahamed >3# $iritunga Jayasuriya 3 Enited $ocialist "arty >4# $rinath "erera H Attorney3at3@aw I 0eneral $ecretary, 6ree Trade Enion 'entre

>9# $ritharan $ritharuni >=# $talingeorge Aishanthini >+# $umathy $i&amohan >># $unanda .eshapriya >D# $unil Jayasekera D0# T# (athuri H Attorney3at3@aw D1# Taanya Tranchell D2# Tehani Ariyaratne D3# Thiruni Celegama D4# E#@# Jaufer D9# Edaya Calupathirana D=# Jictor "anangala 7rgani/ations D+# Almuslimaath D>#Association of 6amily (embers of the .isappeared DD# uddhist @iberation 6ront 100# 'enter for $ocial 'oncerns, Ja3Fla 101# 'entre for "olicy Alternati&es 1'"A2 102# 6ree (edia (o&ement 103# ;A67:( )uman :ights .ocumentation 'enter 104# (uslim %omenKs :esearch and Action 6orum 109# Aational 'hristian F&angelical Alliance of $ri @anka 10=# Aational "eace 'ouncil of $ri @anka 1A"'2 10+# $ecretariat for (uslims 1$6(2 10># The (uslim 'ouncil of $ri @anka ,1- Address by (s# 6la&ia "ansieri Enited Aations .eputy )igh 'ommissioner for )uman :ights at the 24th session of the )uman :ights 'ouncil, 0ene&a, 29 $eptember 2013 3httpL??www#ohchr#org?en?AewsF&ents?"ages?.isplayAews#asp!MAews;.N13>20I@ang;.NF ,2- $ourceL Aational 'hristian F&angelical Alliance of $ri @anka 3 httpL??nceasl#org? ,3- 'olombo Telegraph, .ambulla Co&il AttackedB )indu "olitico $ays (os<ues And Co&ils (ust Aot e $hifted 3httpsL??www#colombotelegraph#com?inde!#php?dambulla3ko&il3attacked3 hindu3politico3says3mos<ues3and3ko&ils3must3not3be3shifted? I Tamil 0uardian, Attacks on )indu temples escalate 3httpL??www#tamilguardian#com?article#aspMarticleidN4>3D ,4- The $unday @eader, 6T8 %orker $uccumbs To ;n*uries

3 httpL??www#thesundayleader#lk?2011?0=?01?ft/3worker3succumbs3to3in*uries? ,9- The :epublic $<uare 3 Akila .inesh, 1+3year old killed during %eliweriya clash 3httpL??www#therepublics<uare#com?politics?2013?0>?02?akila3dinesh31+3year3old3killed3at3 weliweriya3clash? ,=- ;ncident details H $ourceL Aational 'hristian F&angelical Alliance of $ri @anka 3httpL??nceasl#org?category?religious3liberty?incident3reports?