Religious complaints: Police in unholy mess

By Namini Wijedasa-Sunday, May 04, 2014

- The new unit manned by predominantly Buddhist offi cers in the wilderness, without
guidance; confusion over its duties and responsibilities - Mied reactions to the law
enforcement division attached to Buddha !asana and "eligious #ffairs Ministry
Members of the police unit dealing with complaints related to religious activities have
no special training in their assigned field and are still uninformed about the types of
offences they are expected to investigate.
Officials admitted that the answers will only become clearer as the weeks progress.
Critics say the task delegated to the unit that of dealing with complaints related to
religious activities is too broad and poorly defined. everal senior politicians have
also !uestioned the rationale for setting up a separate unit to deal with offences
regular police stations should handle.
"he unit has #$ members including a enior uperintendent of %olice &%'( )ssistant
uperintendent of %olice &)%' and an Officer*in*Charge &O+C'. +t is attached to the
Ministry of ,uddha asana and -eligious affairs. "here is only one branch in
Colombo.
"he %resident
decided on
.ednesday to
appoint the unit
and by the
following Monday
it was done( said
an official source(
re!uesting
anonymity. "here
was really no time
for training.
%olice pokesman
)/ith -ohana said
the training would
come.
.e will use the
assistance of
BBS monks act like police while police act like helpless victims during the recent incident at the Industry and
Commerce Ministry !he BBS monks stormed the ministry in search o" a monk who had spoken in "avour o"
religious harmony #ic $y %ilan Maligaspe
distinguished professionals in the field( university academic staff( law enforcement
officials( religious leaders. .e will develop a curriculum( % -ohana said.
% -an/ith 0odituwakku( the head of the unit( has a cubicle on the sixth floor
behind a table that holds flowers( /oss sticks and a ,uddha statue. 1or now( there is no
religious or ethnic diversity in the unit. +ts members are predominantly inhala
,uddhist but the %olice 2epartment has pledged to change that.
On .ednesday( % 0odituwakku could still not shed light on whether his unit would
implement specific laws related to religion or address more general complaints. .hen
we receive complaints( we will consult Ministry officials and take their advice( he said(
adding that he is yet to familiarise himself with the specific laws. 3is O+C has been
instructed to collect information about religious issues. )ny further !uestions would
have to be answered by the police spokesman.
.ith #4$ reported incidents already before the unit( the police and the Ministry will
have a daunting task deciding on relevancy especially when the special unit has not
been given any terms of reference. "he largest number of complaints has been lodged
by former Colombo Municipal Councillor )5ath alley who submitted a file of #67
cases. )ll of these had previously been submitted to other police stations.
%olice pokesman -ohana said the public must first visit the area police.+f unhappy
with the outcome( they could seek the intervention of the special unit. "his implies the
creation of an informal hierarchy within the %olice 2epartment( with the public being
able to appeal to a separate division if they felt the area police are not effective.
"he main ob/ective of establishing it in the Ministry of ,uddha asana and -eligious
)ffairs is for them to work together( the pokesman continued. "he Ministry makes
its decisions and the police will provide security.
Critics pounced on the lack of clarity. "hey are now not too sure of this unit8s
operational framework( said Chrishantha .eliamuna( human rights advocate and
convenor of the 9awyers Collective( an activist group.
"he 9awyers Collective wants the special unit to be disbanded. "hey say it will be
perceived as a licence for ordinary police officers to shirk their legitimate
responsibilities and pass them on to this unit and get away with their duties.
Mr. .eliamuna said the %olice 2epartment knew very well that its officers were
ineffective in stemming religion*related crimes. "his was because excessive
interference meant they were shackled from dealing with high profile criminals( in this
case the ,uddhist monks.
+ronically( the ,uddhist monks against whom such allegations are made also expect
the special unit to be free of interference. "hey claim that powerful politicians(
including Members of %arliament and M%s( prevent police from acting against religious
offences reported by ,uddhists.
,odu ,ala ena :eneral ecretary ;en. :alagodaththe :nanasara said that( after a
spate of recent incidents( his organisation had been summoned by the authorities.
"hey included the %rime Minister( 2efence ecretary and the +nspector :eneral of
%olice. )ll of them asked the ,, not to take the law into your own hands.
+n turn( the ,, had strongly urged the :overnment to set up a police unit for religious
offences. .hen a complaint goes to a police station( it is directed to the senior officer
who then receives a call from the area M% or Minister and that8s the end of the law( he
said. "he ,uddhists of this country also have problems. <ow we have got a police
unit( finally.
=ustice Minister and ri 9anka Muslim Congress leader -auf 3akeem is among those
who maintain that the special unit is redundant. 3e was reported as saying the police
have sufficient powers to tackle prevailing issues.
>ven the =athika 3ela ?rumaya opposes the :overnment8s ,,*backed move. %arty
:eneral ecretary and "echnology Minister Champika -anawaka said that such a
mechanism( if at all( should have been created through %arliament. +t might be a
precursor to religious police in ri 9anka( he cautioned. Confusion remains over what
the unit will actually do. "he .estern %rovince8s enior 2eputy +nspector :eneral(
)nura enanayake( has said unethical conversions( religious disturbances and threats
to religious personalities are offences the new unit would handle. 3owever( there is no
law governing unethical conversions while disturbance and threat already fall under
the ambit of existing police stations.
% -ohana first said the unit would take all complaints concerning religious activities.
,ut he clarified that issues such as the blaring of religious prayers over loudspeakers
would not be entertained by it. upporters say the unit might help resolve conflict
before it worsens. >ven this( however( is deemed to be the /ob of the Ministry.
) common reason for recent religious strife has been the setting up of prayer
centres( mostly >vangelical Christian and +slamic( around the country. "hese are also
unlikely to be taken up.
%rayer centres are generally not illegal( % -ohana said. +f you know there is an
&unauthorised' prayer centre( the Ministry of ,uddha asana and -eligious )ffairs
must handle the matter internally. +f there is no breach of peace of offences under
criminal law( the police have no role there. +f there was a breach of the peace( he
said( the local police should mobilise. "he parties could go to the special unit if they
were not satisfied with action taken. Critics say this procedure might not work in
volatile situations when !uick intervention is needed.
"he ,, expects the unit to collate complaints and incidents( provide statistics and
analyse the trend in offences related to religion. +t could help the :overnment
formulate policy on matters such as unethical conversion and .ahabism( says ;en.
:nanasara. +t might even be able to inform the :overnment8s opinion on what to do
about ,uddha tattoos.
,ut % -ohana said data collection and policy guidance were the /ob of the Ministry
of ,uddha asana and -eligious )ffairs. "he ,, also expects the special unit to act
in cases where the clergy are guilty of offences( including corruption. +t is not clear
whether other religious leaders or groups expect the same.
"he Ministry says all manner of problems are brought to its officials for resolution(
including within religions. "here are complaints about corruption in the clergy( about
inappropriate personal behaviour( about violation of rules and norms( and about
ordinary crimes.
)mong religions( a most emotive issue is the setting up of prayer centres( often in
private residences or buildings rented for other purposes. )nother is unethical
conversion. .e don8t hope to investigate each and every complaint( said M.0.,
2issanayake( the Ministry ecretary said. .e will decide whether they should be
handled by ordinary police or by this unit. Our ob/ective is to give a fair solution to
people of all religions.
+n attempting to reach this goal( however( the :overnment8s special police unit might
find the meeting of conflicting expectations to be its most difficult task of all.
Offences related to religion: What the Penal Code says
The Penal Code lists out several offences related to religion. They are:
Destroying, damaging, defiling any places of worship, or any object held
sacred by any class of persons, with the intention of thereby insulting the
religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of
persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage, or defilement as an
insult to their religion
!ny act, in or upon, or in the vicinity of, any place of worship or any object
which is held sacred with intent to or in veneration by any class of persons,
with the intention of wounding the religious feelings of any class of persons
or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such
act as an insult to their religion
"oluntarily causing disturbance to any assembly lawfully engaged in the
performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies
#ith the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any
person, uttering any word or making any sound in the hearing of that
person, or making any gesture in the sight of that person, or placing any
object in the sight of that person
#ith deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings
of any class of persons, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible
representations, insulting or attempting to insult the religion or the
religious beliefs of that class
#ith the intention of wounding the feelings of any person, or of insulting
the religion of any person, or with the knowledge that the feelings of any
person are likely to be wounded, or that the religion of any person is likely
to be insulted thereby, committing any trespass in any place of worship or
on any place of sepulchre or any place set apart for the performance of
funeral rites, or as a depository for the remains of the dead, or offering any
indignity to any human corpse, or causing disturbance to any persons
assembled for the performance of funeral ceremonies.