A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, May 31, 2015
Right to Return id Inalienable and Needs to Be Implemented With Urgency
(Press Release/National Peace Council)-31/05/2015
One of the unresolved and tragic problems of Sri Lanka’s war is the
return and resettlement of the Muslim people who were expelled from the
North by the LTTE in 1990. An estimated 80 percent of them continue to
live outside their original places of residence. Recently the issue of
resettlement of displaced Muslims took on controversial proportions and
was linked to the alleged encroachment of the Wilpattu National Park.
Sections of the national media gave wide publicity to statements by
nationalist Sinhalese groups who accused displaced Muslims backed by
Muslim politicians of being involved in this illegal and environmentally
destructive activity.
The government and environmental groups have now confirmed that there is
no encroachment of the Wilpattu National Park which is located in the
Puttlam District outside of the Northern Province. However, there is
concern that the buffer zone is being illegally encroached upon in the
neighbouring Mannar District, namely the Marichchukkaddei-Karakdikuli
forest reserve that adjoins the Wilpattu North Sanctuary, which is
contiguous with the Wilpattu National Park. There is evidence that it is
the formerly all-powerful Presidential Task Force (PTF) that allocated
these lands for resettlement as far back as 2011. Environmental groups
have taken the position that no settlement or resettlement of people
should take place in violation of the law and at the expense of
environmental conservation.
The State has a legal and ethical obligation to provide alternative
lands to the displaced people as the current places of resettlement are
in dispute. This is essential to maintain peace. The war and conflict
have created numerous land disputes between state and private, between
communities and between individuals which in fact take communal
overtones because of deep rooted ethnic and political divisions in the
country. The previous government made some effort at resettlement but
such efforts have not been according to the accepted procedures for the
alienation of land under the land laws of the State. This matter has to
be looked into by the new government and a permanent solution found.
It is also important to note that the practice of encroaching and
settling people on protected forest land has also taken place elsewhere
with other communities and needs to be stopped. No persons or body of
interested persons should be allowed to encroach on state lands.
Environmental groups have filed legal action in these cases or have
publicly protested against them. An example would be protests by
environmental groups in 2013 against the establishment of Namalgama and
Nandimithragama in the Vavuniya District, where Sinhalese from the South
have been settled.
The National Peace Council asks the general public not to be misled by
groups with a partisan political agenda. We affirm the right of return
of all war-displaced and forcibly evicted people, be they Sinhalese,
Tamil and Muslim to their places of original residence including that of
the war-displaced Muslim people currently resident in Puttlam and other
camps. If the security forces require the continued use of their lands,
then it is necessary for the State authorities to provide such
alternative lands according to theaccepted procedures for the alienation of land under the land laws of the State.
In view of the growing controversy and polarization within
society on this issue, the National Peace Council calls on the
government to formulate a national policy on resettlement of the
war-displaced and to establish an administrative mechanism to ensure
resettlement in a fair and transparent manner as a matter of priority. The
government also needs to reconsider the issues of High Security Zones
and the take-over of lands for purposes of setting up military camps
especially where it has led to the displacement of significant numbers
of people.
Sri Lankan perceptions on life post-war
Six
years after the end of war in Sri Lanka, the four main ethnic
communities are still divided when it comes to issues related to
reconciliation. ‘Sri Lankan perceptions on life post war’ is a series of
infographics looking key public opinion data from CPA’s ‘Democracy in
Post War Sri Lanka’ survey (conducted annually since 2011) on the theme
of reconciliation.
Since 2011, a question that showed much division between the Sinhala and
Tamil community has been on whether the Government has done enough to
address the root causes of the ethnic conflict. While majority from the
Tamil community has said that the Government has done nothing (32.3% in
2011 increased to 39.9% in 2014), majority from the Sinhala community
has said that the Government has done a lot (41.1% in 2011, 35% in
2014).
When asked in March 2015 about whether there should be a credible
mechanism to look into accountability of what happened during the last
stages of the war, most people from the Sinhala community (44.4%) said
no while majority from the other three communities said yes (Tamil –
83.9%, Up Country Tamil – 75.6%, Muslim – 61.7%). Those who said that
there should be a credible mechanism were asked whether this mechanism
should be exclusively domestic, exclusively international or both
domestic and international. Again, the communities are divided on this
with 57.8% from the Sinhala community stating that it should be an
exclusively domestic mechanism while 44.9% from the Tamil community and
35.5% from the Up Country Tamil community stated that it should be
exclusively international. 43.9% from the Tamil community stated that it
should be a mix of domestic and international while only 7% said that
it should be exclusively domestic, a clear indication of a lack of faith
in an exclusively domestic mechanism.
The National Anthem being sung in both Sinhala and Tamil is another
issue that divides the communities. 42% from the Sinhala community
strongly feel that it should not be sung in Sinhala and Tamil while
82.9% from the Tamil community, 86.6% from the Up Country Tamil
community and 69.4% from the Muslim community strongly feel that it
should be sung in both languages.
These findings are all from CPA’s annual ‘Democracy in Post- War Sri
Lanka’ survey, an island wide public opinion poll conducted annually in
all districts since 2011. The infographics were designed by Shanika Perera.
Download the infographics as a PDF here.
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall"
"Excellent joke!"
by Kumar David0-May 30, 2015
Whether this is a Ranil-Sirisena (R&S) government or an S&R one,
is significant. It certainly started off with all the trumps and
partnership seniority in Ranil’s hands, but time and completion of the
100-Day tasks has moved the equation into an S&R domain; so I will
use this acronym assigning political seniority to the President. Typical
of the shift is that Ranil asked for dissolution of parliament but
President Sirisena, sweating under SLFP heat seems to be holding out for
later, hinting at August-September. Pulling in different directions on
this issue is understandable; though the calculations on both sides I
believe are erroneous. The UNP opines that it will do better under the
existing PR scheme while the SLFP (I hope not under the influence of
astrological opium again) seems deluded that electorates which voted for
Rajapaksa on 8 January are theirs for the asking.
Vasu, Ranil, & Sumanthiran
By Jagath Asoka –May 31, 2015
I once wrote about Pissudewa, Buruwansa, and Gommanpila,
the latest incarnations of Sri Lankan Three Stooges; their hallmark is
political farce, chauvinism, and Mahinda-nostalgia. Recently, as we say
in the vernacular, Ape Pissudeva went bananas; in front of hapless
school children, he displayed his arrogance and vituperative skills by
using profanity. Bravo, my friend, you gave a pukka performance! You
have concretized and given credence to my hypothesis. What an exemplary
Marxist-Leninist? I don’t recommend a literal public beheading because Vasu has
done it politically on national TV; however, I heard the following
suggestion from another Sri Lankan: if Vasu has any decency, he should
find a public toilet, immerse his swollen head filled with political
fecal matter and flush it several times; by the way, if Vasu cannot do
it himself, he should ask the former swine-faced, pseudo intellect,
education minister, who appeared on TV and gave a lecture on the
Sinhalese word “Paiyya,” to be a companion and participant in this
ritual. After listening to my colleague, I watched Bandula’s comment.
Folks, you got to watch this on YouTube; just search for the following:
Bandula Explains Derogatory Word Used by Vasu in Parliament. Once upon a
time, the name Vasudeva was synonymous with “integrity,” but now with
the Sinhalese word “Pakaya.” What a pukka Shakespearian tragedy? A noble
protagonist, who was somewhat flawed, ended up with an obscene
conclusion. Vasu is throwing fuel into his own house on fire: He will
not apologize, a true quality of a hallucinogenic revolutionary.
The latest political fiasco is who is
going to be our next Prime Minister. Pissudewa, Buruwansa, Gommanpila,
swine-faced Bandula, and their ilk, in hallucinogenic ecstasy, keep
regurgitating the same mantra: Prime Minister Mahinda.
The majority of Sri Lankans are neither subversive nor incendiary. The
majority of Sri Lankans are fairly intelligent and capable of critical
reflection and reason; they were tired of corruption and knew that they
had lost their freedom of expression. It is true that Ranil was appointed, not elected, due to peripheral issues. Ranil’s biggest faux Pas is to continue supportingArjuna Mahendran,
when the perception is that Mahendran’s son-in-law had inside
information, participated in financial skullduggery, and swindled the
hapless Sri Lankans. Speculation, trust, rumors, and ethics are the
wheels of financial markets. I hope Arjuna Mahendran is not another Raj
Rajaratnam. As I have written in my previous articles, Sri Lankans would
not accuse Ranil of stealing, but the perception is that Ranil would
protect his friends without justification. The conclusion of this
debacle was that Mahendran was not directly involved, implying that he
was involved, indirectly. Ranil had an opportunity to be a political
giant, instead he dwarfed himself, politically. So, now, our quagmire
is: Who is going to be our next Prime Minister?Read More
Sri Lanka: Freedom for 278 Political Prisoners, Consequent to TNA Talks:
Two hundred and seventy eight political prisoners whose release the
Tamil community has been agitating for several years will soon be
granted their freedom following talks with the Tamil National Alliance,
party frontliner M.A. Sumanthiran MP told the Sunday Observer. The TNA
will this week discuss with Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe the
procedural methods and the priority categories of prisoners to be
released, he said, adding that a meeting scheduled for last week was
postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Many prisoners have not been served any indictments but arrested on mere
suspicion, while many others have been arrested for minor offences, he
said.The TNA after compiling the details held talks with President
Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
They are optimistic that the release of the prisoners will be finalised
at the next round of talks with Minister Rajapakshe, he said.
by P. Krishnaswamy / The Observer
Parliament heading for mid-June dissolution?
* All parties except UPFA oppose 255-member legislature
* Consensus on 20th Amendment recedes
With the government hesitant to disregard objections raised by smaller
parties to the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution and its
enactment hanging in the balance, a dissolution of Parliament seems
likely by about the middle of June.
Government sources said yesterday that even though President
Maithripala Sirisena was doing his best to introduce the First Past
the Post and Limited PR (FPP&LPR) System prior to dissolution of
the national legislature, he may be compelled to hold the next General
Election under the current electoral system if the smaller parties
including the JVP, SLMC and those representing the estate Tamils
continued to oppose the suggested reforms.
"All parties except the UPFA have objected to the number of seats in
Parliament being increased from 225 to 255 as a means of arriving at a
consensus on FPP&LPR. In this scenario the possibility of enacting
20A is receding by the day", the sources noted. "It appears a mid-June
dissolution is a distinct possibility."
While the UNP has called for 125 MP’s to be elected on FPP and the
other 100 on PR , the JVP and SLMC want the MPs to be elected on a 50-50
basis with two ballot papers being issued to the voter.
Leader of the House and Plantation Industries Minister Lakshman Kiriella
said that the UNP was opposed to an increase in the number of
parliamentarians.
"India with a population of 1.4 billion people has only 545 MPs, so how
can we justify having 255 legislators for a population of a little over
20 million? The UPFA is trying to delay the dissolution of the House as
long as possible by taking differing positions on 20A. President
Sirisena was elected on a pledge to hold Parliamentary Polls at the end
of his 100-day program, but we are now well past that deadline.
Meanwhile, people are clamouring for early elections. It’s our duty to
given them an opportunity with or without 20A."
Asked why polls could not be held under the proposed FPP & LPR
System in the event that the President was able to persuade the smaller
parties to support the 20th Amendment Bill, he replied that there was no
agreement to begin with and the crux of the issue was survival in the
political arena.
General Secretary of the UPFA, Susil Premajayanth insisted that the
Delimitation Commission established by the recently enacted 19th
Amendment could re-draw the electoral boundaries in time for a September
election .But, Sirisena says that a new government would be in place by
September, meaning polls would be held earlier.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently requested the President
to ensure that the General Election be conducted in July.
Parliament, is scheduled to meet on June 3, for the purpose of
approving the names of three non-MP’s nominated to serve on the
10-member Constitutional Council. They are former Appeal Court Judge A.
W. A Salaam, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy and Dr.A.T.Ariyaratne.
The sources said that Srisena having ensured the passage of the 19th
Amendment , though in a diluted form in comparison to the original Bill,
wanted the Constitutional Council (CC) appointed prior to dissolving
the legislature, having seen how the now defunct 17th Amendment which
established the Independent Public Service, Elections, Judicial and
National Police Commissions on October 3, 2001 not being activated all
these years due to the CC not being constituted.
The 19th Amendment has established Independent Elections, Public
Service, National Police, Audit Service, Human Rights, Bribery or
Corruption, Finance, Delimitation, National Procurement and University
Grants Commissions.
Who Is Controlling The SLFP – Maithri, Mahinda Or The ‘Gang Of Four’?
By Gamini Jayaweera –May 31, 2015
On 16 January 2015 former President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, following his unexpected defeat in the presidential election, gave up the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Mr. Maithripala Sirisena who
contested against the former president assumed duties as the new leader
of the SLFP. Mr. Rajapaksa stated that the reason for relinquishing his
leadership of the party was to avoid any possible division in the
party. The new leader, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena assumed his duties
hoping that he could give a new political culture to the SLFP membership
and unite the party to contest and win the next general election under
his leadership. But it appears that his expectations are not going in
the right direction due to number of obstacles which have been created
by the crafty operations of the external ‘Gang of Four’ well supported
by the Rajapakshe fraction of the SLFP.
‘Gang of Four’
It appears that the ‘Gang of Four’, namely Mr. Wimal Weerawansa MP of National Freedom Front, Mr. Dinesh Gunawardena MP of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, Mr. Vasudeva Nanayakkara MP of Democratic Left Front, and Mr. Udaya Gammanpila of
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya is well supported by a large number of SLFP
former Ministers, MPs, Chief Ministers, and other members of the party
are working tirelessly to build a strong opposition to SLFP current
leader Mr. Maithripala Sirisena’s vision of creating a new political
culture.
It
is hard to believe that a well-established party like SLFP is
indirectly controlled and directed by the ‘Gang of four’ undermining the
authority of the leadership and the Central Committee of the party. It
appears that the leadership and the Central Committee of the SLFP cannot
implement the rules, processes and procedures of the party on their
membership because they ignore those instructions and participate in
rallies organised by the ‘Gang of Four’ criticising the activities of
the “Yahapalnaya”
led by the leader of the SLFP. They are not only trying to build a
“public opinion” against Maithripala fraction of the party but also
giving ‘orders’ to SLFP Central Committee to select certain
parliamentary candidates for the upcoming general election of their
choice irrespective of the allegations of bribery & corruption,
ongoing cases in courts & bribery commission against these MPs. They
also demand that Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa should be nominated as the SLFP
prime ministerial candidate in the forthcoming general election.Read More
President be wary this unholy haste for 20 th amendment is a Trojan horse: A minister rising against racism warns
(Lanka-e-news-
30.May.2015, 11.30PM) ‘Of course the 20 th amendment shall be passed .
That is imperative and important , but what is the unholy haste being
attached by these opportunists to pass this amendment who are trying to
create a Trojan horse. Please understand this in right perspective
president ,’ said minister Mangala Samaraweera at the last Cabinet
meeting , based on information reaching Lanka e news inside information
division.
Minister Samaraweera made this statement when the racists in the
Cabinet strongly opposed Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff
Hakeem at the Cabinet meeting.
On the 27 th when the cabinet meeting was held chaired by the president ,
the draft of the 20 th amendment was presented to the Cabinet. On that
occasion SLMC leader most calmly revealed the 20 th amendment shall be
passed , but there are some issues pertaining to it from the point of
view of the Muslim community , and therefore he said , he is opposed to
its passage in parliament hastily.
The notorious racist Champika Ranawake on hearing this suddenly jumped
up like a jack in the box , while ministers Rajitha Senaratne and much
abhorred S.B Dissanayake also began criticizing Hakeem most bitterly.
Champika castigating Hakeem said’ it is because of you all that the
cabinet of ministers swelled to 255. Now you are coming again to
express your opposition.’
Rajitha Senaratne then joined with S.B. Dissanayake in support of
Champika. They began scolding Hakeem in a fit of mad rage using most
insolent and indecent language . Their statements were laden with ‘aroo’
‘Moo’ and ‘Meka’ which words are commonly used by latrine coolies in
Sri Lanka after a kasippu shot . ‘Thamby jumps in all directions,’ they
screamed at Hakeem.
While a majority of ministers of the UNP were silently watching this
scene , Mangala Samaraweera belonging to a rare breed of upright
politicians of the highest caliber in Sri Lanka who could not endure
this tirade any longer , rose up and retorted .He said , it is his
stance while he was in the SLFP or with the UNP today , the electoral
system should be changed, and these two parties have already concluded
in favor of this. Nevertheless, this deplorable behavior of these three
ministers disallowing and obstructing Hakeem , the only minister there
representing the minority party from expressing his views portend
grave danger , Samaraweera asserted.
‘We are a country that was ravaged by a 30 years old devastating war.
Why did that terrorism initiate ? We cannot force the minority parties
to accept our system. If a minority group of people think that by the
system we are bringing , no matter how good it seems from our
standpoint , their views are not being accommodated duly , that can well
be the beginning of another terrorism . Hence , if we who are having so
much experience in this connection are not even ready to listen to
Rauff Hakeem , what can be the outcome?’ Minister Mangala questioned.
‘Earlier on when in the parliament there was a two third majority
,there was no such haste to amend the election system , therefore the
president should ponder and understand why such an unholy haste being
attached now for this 20 th amendment. Both you and the prime minister
(P.M.) should understand that this is a Trojan horse in the form of 20
th amendment which can well destroy both of you,’ Minister Mangala
elaborated.
Thereafter , the president sensibly decided to hold more discussions before giving his consent to the 20 th amendment.
After the cabinet meeting the topic of discussion of a group of
ministers was on the conduct of a certain election monitoring
organization .One of the ministers said , a chief of that organization
who is now out from it is playing the role of a ‘main contractor,’ and
he is bringing pressure to bear on the decision making regarding the
elections system. The ministers also discussed among themselves that it
is through a notorious lawyer who has wormed himself into the position
of a co ordinating secretary of a bigwig of the country, this chief
of the monitors has collected monies , and based on that ill gotten
wealth he is riding the high horse having lost even his sense of
proportions . He is therefore surely headed for a heavy fall , they
observed.
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by (2015-05-31 00:25:10)
by (2015-05-31 00:25:10)
Asgiriya Chief Prelate questions North CM’s demand
The Chief Prelate said this when he met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who was on a visit to Kandy.
In response, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe noted that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was working well with the new Government.
He recalled that some TNA members had even attended the Independence Day celebrations this year and this showed that the TNA accepted Sri Lanka’s Independence Day and also the military.
The Prime Minister said that while there maybe a few negative comments being made by some TNA members, in Parliament both the Government and the TNA have a good understanding.
Wickremesinghe also noted that the issue of returning land held by the military in the north to the civilians was still an issue.
However he said that land which the military did not require any more since the war was over was being returned to the rightful owners. (Colombo Gazette)
Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter, the Venerable Galagama Attadassi Thera
The Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter, the Venerable Galagama
Attadassi Thera, has questioned the demand by the Chief Minister of the
Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran that the Army should be withdrawn
from Jaffna.
The Venerable Galagama Attadassi Thera said that the Government must be wise when responding to such demands and ensure that Sri Lanka remains united under one National Flag.
The Venerable Galagama Attadassi Thera said that the Government must be wise when responding to such demands and ensure that Sri Lanka remains united under one National Flag.
The Chief Prelate said this when he met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who was on a visit to Kandy.
In response, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe noted that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was working well with the new Government.
He recalled that some TNA members had even attended the Independence Day celebrations this year and this showed that the TNA accepted Sri Lanka’s Independence Day and also the military.
The Prime Minister said that while there maybe a few negative comments being made by some TNA members, in Parliament both the Government and the TNA have a good understanding.
Wickremesinghe also noted that the issue of returning land held by the military in the north to the civilians was still an issue.
However he said that land which the military did not require any more since the war was over was being returned to the rightful owners. (Colombo Gazette)
The darker side of Buddhism
The principle of non-violence is central to Buddhist teachings, but in
Sri Lanka some Buddhist monks are being accused of stirring up hostility
towards other faiths and ethnic minorities. Their hard line is causing
increasing concern.
The small temple in the suburbs of Colombo is quiet. An image of the
Buddha is surrounded with purple and white lotus flowers. Smaller
Buddhas line the walls.
But upstairs, a burly monk in a bright orange robe holds forth - for
this is one of the main offices of a hard-line Buddhist organisation,
the Bodu Bala Sena or Buddhist Power Force (BBS).
The peaceful precepts for which Buddhism is widely known barely figure
in his words. Instead, the monk, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, talks
of his Buddhism in terms of race. Most Buddhists here are ethnically
Sinhalese, and Sinhalese make up three-quarters of the island's
population.
"This country belongs to the Sinhalese, and it is the Sinhalese who
built up its civilisation, culture and settlements. The white people
created all the problems," says Gnanasara Thero angrily.
He says the country was destroyed by the British colonialists, and its
current problems are also the work of what he calls "outsiders". By that
he means Tamils and Muslims.
In fact, while a minority of the Tamils did indeed come from India as
tea plantation workers, most of them, and most of the Muslims, are as
Sri Lankan as the Sinhalese, with centuries-old roots here.
"We are trying to... go back to the country of the Sinhalese," says
Gnanasara Thero. "Until we correct this, we are going to fight."
This firebrand strain of Buddhism is not new to Sri Lanka. A key
Buddhist revivalist figure of the early 20th Century, Anagarika
Dharmapala, was less than complimentary about non-Sinhalese people. He
held that the "Aryan Sinhalese" had made the island into Paradise which
was then destroyed by Christianity and polytheism. He targeted Muslims
saying they had "by Shylockian methods" thrived at the expense of the
"sons of the soil".
And later, in 1959 Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike was assassinated by a
Buddhist monk - the circumstances were murky but one contentious issue
was the government's failure to do enough to ensure the rights of the
Sinhala people.
Since 2012, the BBS has embraced direct action, following the example of other like-minded groups. It raided Muslim-owned slaughter-houses claiming, incorrectly, that they were breaking the law. Members demonstrated outside a law college alleging, again incorrectly, that exam results were being distorted in favour of Muslims.The long war against the Tamil Tigers - a violent rebel group purporting to speak for the Tamil minority - brought the hard-line Buddhists into their own once more. Portraying the war as a mission to protect the Sinhalese and Buddhism, in 2004 nine monks were elected to parliament on a nationalist platform. And it was from the monks' main party that Gnanasara Thero later broke away, in time forming the BBS. It is now the most prominent of several organisations sharing a similar ideology.
Now that a Tamil adversary has been defeated, Muslims seem to be these
nationalists' main target, along with evangelical Christians whom they
accuse of deceitfully and cunningly converting people away from
Buddhism.
But can the BBS be called violent? "Whenever there is something wrong
done by a Buddhist monk everything [is blamed on] us because of our
popularity," says BBS spokesman Dilantha Withanage.
"BBS is not a terror organisation, BBS is not promoting violence against
anyone... but we are against certain things." He cites threats by
Islamic State to declare the whole of Asia a Muslim realm.
Time and again he and his colleague bracket the word "Muslim" together with the word "extremist".
They are not the only Sinhalese who express discomfort at a visible rise
in Muslim social conservatism in Sri Lanka. More women are covering up
than before and in parts of the country Saudi-influenced Wahabi Muslims
are jostling with more liberal ones.
Yet there is no evidence of violent extremism among Sri Lankan Muslims.
Rather, they have been at the receiving end of attacks from other parts
of society.
In the small town of Aluthgama last June, three people died in clashes
that started when the BBS and other Buddhist monks led an anti-Muslim
rally in a Muslim area. At the time, I met Muslim families whose homes
and shops had been burnt and utterly destroyed, and who were cowering in
schools as temporary refugees.
Moderate Buddhists have also been targeted by hard-line ones.
Last year Rev Wathareka Vijitha Thero was abducted, rendered
unconscious, tied up and forcibly circumcised - he says this was meant
as a gesture of ridicule because he had worked for closer cooperation
between Buddhists and Muslims.
He believes Buddhist monks - he doesn't know who or whether they were aligned with any particular group - were responsible.
In a separate case, a few weeks earlier, Vijitha Thero had held a news
conference to highlight the grievances of the Muslim community - the
gathering was broken up by the BBS. Gnanasara had hurled insults and
threatened him: "If you are involved in this type of stupid treachery
again, you will be taken and put in the Mahaweli River," he said.
The reference to the Mahaweli is significant - there was a left wing
insurrection against the Sri Lankan government in 1989 - it's estimated
60,000 people disappeared and many dead bodies were dumped in the river.
Another country where fierce Buddhism has recently made headlines is
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. A Buddhist faction there, the 969
movement, is known for strident anti-Muslim campaigns that have
triggered widespread violence.
Its leader, Shin Wirathu, was recently invited to Sri Lanka by the BBS.
Both organisations say that even if Buddhism predominates in their own
countries, overall it is under threat. "We want to protect it, therefore
we signed a memorandum of understanding on forming alliances in the
Asian region," says Withanage.
In January, Sri Lanka unexpectedly elected a new president, Maithripala
Sirisena. He told me that "everybody knows" who gave rise to the BBS -
implying that it was the administration of his predecessor, Mahinda
Rajapaksa. The previous government was, at least, strongly supportive of
the organisation.
And the group thrived because the rule of law had broken down, according
to the new minister for Buddhist affairs, Karu Jayasuriya. He has told
me that the BBS will be reined in. On Tuesday, Gnanasara Thero was
arrested for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration but later
freed on bail. Thus far, the new government - which, like the old one,
includes a strongly Buddhist nationalist party - seems timid about
taking on the men in orange.
More from the Magazine
Gota’s MiG Deal: Investigation Finds Secret Bank Account In British Virgin Islands
May 31, 2015
A secret bank account in the name of Bellimissa has been opened in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) just prior to the MiG deal.
According
to the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) sources, the
investigators who are dealing with the procurement of MiG-27 fighter
jets to the Sri Lanka Air Force have managed to locate the account.
The account has been opened in 2006 just before the deal. Leak documents inColombo Telegraph‘s possession confirms that their was no company called Bellimissa in the UK.
According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
the BVI has harbored perhaps 850,000 offshore companies (as much as 40
percent of the world total), with 450,000 of them still active.
Sri Lankan government has paid US$ 10.078 million for four MiG 27s in
2006. Two of these fighter jets were grounded after being purchased and
unserviceable during the warranty period.
As Colombo Telegraph reported last week, when the FCID questioned, the former secretary to the ministry of defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa said
the purchases were done in a proper way. When subjected to deeper
questioning he said the person responsible for all those matters was Air
Marshal Roshan Gunatileke, who was the Air Force Commander at that
time.Read More
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