The Government must apologise to the Muslim community

by Dr Laksiri Fernando

Buddhism as far as I understand is one of the most tolerant and peaceful religions. I am also one who is highly attracted to the Buddhist philosophy and thinking. It is therefore unfortunate that some of the Buddhist priests in Sri Lanka are denigrating the religion and denigrating it in the most sacred places.

Apart from the matter being a case

of the executive branch stepping into

the judicial and justice matters,

completely on an arbitrary manner, which

is in itself is a dangerous tendency,

what is abundantly clear is the

‘political mess-up’ of the whole matter

by the government.

( April 29, 2012, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) The violent mob attack on the Dambulla Muslim Mosque in the presence of the Police on 20 April is a serious event that can ignite communal disharmony in the country, including open violence, if the government fails to apologise to the Muslim community and take appropriate action to thwart the efforts by communal elements among its own ranks to create rift and mischief.

Dambulla Attacks

1. For the mob attack on the Dambulla Mosque.

2. For hearting religious feelings of the Muslim community in the country and internationally.

3. For the inaction of the police and the security forces who failed to prevent the event.

4. For the arbitrary decision of the PM which ignite the whole episode.

Laksiri Fernando, Senior Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Colombo, is currently is a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney in retirement.

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