Thursday, June 15, 2017

Three years since Aluthgama: Hopes for peaceful coexistence remain more elusive than ever 
5The BBS led public rally in the heart of the tension-ridden area in June 2014 resulted in the four deaths and the widespread destruction of Muslim property while engendering fear and demanding subservience

logoBy Ayesha Zuhair-Thursday, 15 June 2017

Exactly three years have lapsed since the Aluthgama riots, a seismic event in the history of Sri Lanka’s troubled ethnic relations. On 15 and 16 June 2014, mobs, in a well-organised manner, unleashed collective violence on Muslim-owned businesses and homes in Aluthgama, Beruwala, Dharga Town, Welipenna and Mathugama in the District of Kalutara, located along the island’s south-western coastal belt. The two days of rioting resulted in the loss of four lives, injured 80 persons, and caused extensive damage to property.
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