Monk Accuses BBS As US Faults Govt

By Easwaran Rutnam

A Buddhist monk has accused the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) of violating his right to freedom of expression just two days after the US State Department released a report accusing the government of failing to curb attacks on religious minorities.

The venerable Malawwe Kalyana Dhamma thero said that members of the Bodu Bala Sena verbally abused and then assaulted him when he attempted to stage a peaceful protest outside the Bodu Bala Sena headquarters at Thunmulla last Wednesday.

He said that the protest was over a request he had made to the BBS for a house to keep several orphans under his care.

The monk said that he had had to return a house at Kalapaluwawa he had on rent and as a result the children there were stranded.
He had then made a request from the Bodu Bala Sena for a place and the Bodu Bala Sena had initially given a positive response.

The venerable Malawwe Kalyana Dhamma thero however said that the Bodu Bala Sena had then reneged on its commitment.
Disappointed over the move the monk attempted to stage a protest outside the Bodu Bala Sena headquarters but was prevented from doing so by the BBS general secretary, ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara thero.

The venerable Malawwe Kalyana Dhamma thero claimed that he was verbally abused by the venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara thero and also later assaulted.

Eye witnesses
The thero claimed that eyewitnesses had said that he was unconscious for approximately 10 minutes following the assault.
He was then taken away by the police and he later lodged a complaint with the police over the assault.

The venerable Malawwe Kalyana Dhamma thero said that he had every right to stage a peaceful demonstration and that right was violated.

The incident came just two days after the US State Department said intolerance of, and discrimination against, Muslims by some Buddhists saw an increase in Sri Lanka last year.

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 released by the US State Department on Monday, also said that last year, U.S. embassy officials conveyed U.S. government concerns about religious freedom, particularly attacks on churches, to government leaders and urged them to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

The report which looks at religious freedom, or the lack of it in all countries for 2012, noted that in certain instances, local authorities in Si Lanka failed to respond effectively to communal attacks, including attacks on members of minority religious groups.

The report said that there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.
“Sporadic violent attacks on Christian churches by Buddhists and some societal tension due to ongoing allegations of forced or “unethical” conversions (i.e., the use of bribes to persuade people to convert) continued, although the number and scale of attacks were reportedly fewer than in recent years. Intolerance of, and discrimination against, Muslims by some Buddhists increased during the year,” the report said.

The US report said that there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice last year. Although discrimination based on religious differences was much less common than discrimination based on ethnicity, societal discrimination based on religious belief increased during the year. In general, members of different religious groups tended to be tolerant of each other’s religious beliefs, although there was at times an atmosphere of distrust. Incidents such as the destruction of places of worship by Buddhist monks exacerbated such tensions.

Religious tension
A survey by the Asia Foundation, an international NGO working in the country, found that religious tension continued to be a problem among Muslim, Tamil, Christian, and Buddhist groups. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed believed that attempts to convert people from one religion to another should not be tolerated, a perception that was relatively consistent across all religious groups. The survey also found that religious minorities considered themselves free to express religious opinions in their local areas; however, higher percentages of Muslims and Hindus did not feel free to express religious opinions in public.

Christians, particularly those from evangelical denominations, sometimes encountered harassment and physical attacks on property and places of worship by local Buddhists who were opposed to conversion and believed Christian groups threatened them. The number and severity of the attacks reportedly diminished somewhat during the year. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) reported attacks on Christian churches, organisations, religious leaders, and congregants; many of the attacks were reported to the police. Credible sources confirmed some of these attacks.

Last December in Weeraketiya (Hambanthota District), a mob of approximately 350 persons led by up to 80 Buddhist monks stormed a church and attacked during services. The mob caused serious damage to furniture and equipment within the building, as well as to vehicles belonging to church members. The attackers injured the pastor and reportedly assaulted two police officers when they attempted to stop the violence. Authorities deployed additional police and soldiers to control the mob. However the US report noted that the police made no arrests.

One day prior to the Weeraketiya violence, a group of Buddhist monks and laypersons had visited the church and informed the pastor that he could not conduct Christian worship in the town without permission from the Buddhist clergy. The monks issued an ultimatum to the pastor to stop the church services, and threatened to destroy the church.

Governmental protection
Buddhist monks were under the protection of the ruling coalition government. Some monks, particularly outside the capital of Colombo, operated with impunity in trying to eliminate Christian and Muslim places of worship. At least 50 incidents of violence against Christians were recorded by Christian groups during the year. On August 9, for example, a mob attacked the pastor of an Assembly of God church, as well as his wife and a female worker of the Methodist church in Deniyaya.

The US report also noted that on August 19, independent media reported that Buddhist monks forcibly occupied the premises of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Deniyaya town in Southern Province’s Matara District and converted it into a Buddhist temple. On August 27, a mob of about 100 people assaulted two church leaders outside the Deniyaya police station for reporting the incident to the police. The case was under investigation at year’s end.

NGOs reported several incidents of discrimination against Muslims. On April 20, Buddhist monks attacked a Dambulla mosque during Friday prayers, claiming the mosque was an illegal structure built on sacred Buddhist land. Reportedly, the government ordered the removal of the mosque.
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/05/26/monk-accuses-bbs-as-us-faults-govt/