The 'Talibanist Buddhists'

attacking Sri Lanka's Muslims

Bodu Bala Sena espouse hardline Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and have been accused of
inciting religious hatred against Sri Lanka's minorities, including before June's violent assaults on
Muslim communities.
By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai-28 June 2014
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
Post-war Sri Lanka was rocked by the worst violence it has seen two weeks ago. n
June 1!" co##unal clashes set the southern resort towns o$ %luthga#a" &harga 'own
and (eruwala alight. %t least three were killed" 88 in)ured" *4 houses" +, sho-s and a
#os.ue co#-letely destroyed while nu#erous others were da#aged" according to
data co#-iled by the /usli# 0ouncil o$ Sri Lanka. vernight" 2"248 -ersons were
instantly dis-laced in the worst religious riots in Sri Lanka1s recent history.
'he
grou- accused o$ instigating the violence is (odu (ala Sena" whose na#e translates
as (uddhist Power 2orce. 3nown $or incendiary s-eech against Sri Lanka4s #inorities"
they gathered in the town o$ %luthga#a $or a rally where their leader" 5alaboda %ththe
5nanasara" re-ortedly s-oke o$ the 6end $or /usli#s"7 be$ore they #arched into
-redo#inantly /usli# areas.
'here was tension on that -articular day. 8e saw #obs running towards us. 'hey
began -elting stones at buildings" houses" and -eo-le" while screa#ing at us in
Sinhala. 9t was like a series o$ shelling": /oha#ed ;ubair /oha#ed 2as#in" a
resident o$ Seenawatte in %luthga#a" told the %nadolu %gency.
:8e ran $or shelter. 8e did not take anything with us" but ran $or our lives. 8e saw $ire"
as we ran as $ast as we could. 8e sought re$uge at a #os.ue. /y daughter and wi$e
are still trau#atised"7 he says.
(oth local and international rights grou-s have called $or an in.uiry and $or the
govern#ent to -ut a sto- to anti-/usli# violence. So $ar" ** -eo-le have been
arrested $or the June 1! clashes but there are no senior $igures a#ongst the#"
including 5nanasara" and (odu (ala Sena4s leadershi- have tried to distance
the#selves $ro# the clashes.
:<verybody bla#es us" but it is incorrect. 'here is a cons-iracy against the Sinhala
(uddhist": &ilanthe 8ithanage" 0hie$ <=ecutive $$icer o$ (odu (ala Sena" told
the %%. :8e were the $irst to re.uest the -eo-le to be cal#.:
8ithanage4s -rotestations have not received #uch sy#-athy a#ongst those who have
observed (odu (ala Sena4s activities. 'hat such violence eru-ted was not
une=-ected> there has long been concern about the aggression shown by hardline
(uddhist nationalists towards Sri Lankan #inorities. (odu (ala Sena4s undis-uted
leader 5nanasara re-ortedly walked into 8il-attu village in Sri Lanka4s northwest and
threatened resettled /usli# villagers. ?e has also $orce$ully and $earlessly stor#ed
into a #edia con$erence to threaten inter-$aith advocate (uddhist #onk 8ataraka
@i)itha 'hero" who had conde#ned (odu (ala Sena4s violence.
%lan 3eenan" Sri Lanka analyst $or think-tank 9nternational 0risis 5rou-" says the
violence was a :-lanned assault on Sri Lanka1s -eace$ul /usli# co##unity.:
:9t #arks a new and e=tre#ely dangerous -hase in a nearly two-year ca#-aign by
#ilitant (uddhists" who en)oy the backing o$ -ower$ul sections o$ the Sri Lankan
govern#ent": says 3eenan. :9$ action is not taken .uickly to hold the -er-etrators and
instigators legally accountable and to -revent $urther attacks" Sri Lanka risks
descending into another devastating cycle o$ co##unal violence and terror.:
/oderate Sinhalese (uddhists in Sri Lanka have individually and collectively
conde#ned the attacks on the #inority /usli# co##unity" as have other ele#ents o$
Sri Lankan society. %t a rally in ca-ital 0olo#bo on June 18" (uddhists were seen
holding 'a#il-language -lacards A one o$ the $irst ti#es such a sign o$ inter-co##unal
solidarity had been -ublicly witnessed.
Pro$essor Su#anasiri Liyanage" a s-ecialist in -olitical econo#y at the Sanasa
0a#-us" says that (odu (ala Sena is -resenting (uddhist high -riests with a
dile##a. /onks" scholars and lay#en are all worried that the grou- is creating an
e=tre#e i#age o$ (uddhis#.
?owever" they are hesitant to resist (odu (ala Sena" and si#ilar (uddhist e=tre#ist
organiBations in -ublic" e=ce-t tongue-in-cheek state#ents" assu#ing that such
conde#nation would a$$ect badly the -olitical in$luence o$ (uddhis# in the island"7
says Liyange. ?e says #ost (uddhists have chosen to -reserve -olitical in$luence
instead o$ de$ending non-violence.
'his at the end o$ the day" would not only create 'alibanist (uddhis#" but also #ake
the country an unliveable -lace" raged with co##unal hatred" intolerance and
-er#anent con$licts": says Liyanage.
Government links?
Since the violence there has been no o$$icial state#ent $ro# the govern#ent. 'here
have been arrests and a cur$ew was i#-osed but locals $ired accusations that -olice
$ailed to -rotect the# during the June 1! violence. 'he /usli# 0ouncil o$ Sri Lanka
says the -olice had ignored -rior re.uests $or the %luthga#a rally to be cancelled.
2or#er President 0handrika (andaranaike 3u#aratunga e=-ressed in a
state#ent concern over the 6hate #ongering and blatant violation o$ the law $or nearly
18 #onths.7 9n that ti#e" not only /usli#-owned -ro-erty and #os.ues but
<vangelical 0hristian churches also ca#e under attack.
'hat (odu (ala Sena and si#ilar grou-s have been able to $unction relatively $reely
has contributed to wides-read and $ir#ly-held belie$s that the grou- has -ower$ul
backers" -erha-s even within the govern#ent. 'he #ost high--ro$ile link is with the
President4s brother" &e$ense Secretary 5otabaya Ca)a-aksa" though the govern#ent
categorically denies those clai#s. 'he President hi#sel$ was accused o$ neglecting
#inorities during an argu#ent with two o$ his /usli# #inisters" shortly a$ter the June
1! clashes.
:?e as-ired to beco#e the leader o$ the Sri Lanka 2reedo# Party" and the President
o$ Sri Lanka as a leader o$ the (uddhist Sinhala nation" and not as the leader $or all
co##unities"7 says -ro#inent activist Di#alka 2ernando" President o$ the
9nternational /ove#ent %gainst %ll 2or#s o$ &iscri#ination and Cacis#. 6?is -osture
is to act as the benevolent leader $or others who should be thank$ul $or the little
#ercies he e=tends $ro# ti#e to ti#e.:
2ernando clai#s that Sri Lanka4s govern#ent relies on a #ilitariBed state and has
encouraged (odu (ala Sena4s violence an e=cuse to increase its authority.
%s (odu (ala Sena #ounts attacks against the /usli#s" resistance and reactions will
e#erge $ro# the co##unity under siege" like what ha--ened in the Dorth and <ast to
the 'a#il co##unity. 'hese res-onses will then be used by 5otabaya Ca)a-aksa to
strengthen the #ilitary and -rovide an e=cuse to the international co##unity that he is
now launching another war against /usli# Jihadis": reiterated 2ernando.
(odu (ala Sena was o$$icially established three years a$ter the end o$ Sri Lanka1s
decades-long con$lict" clai#ing to sa$eguard (uddhis# in Sri Lanka. Since then"
hardline s-eech against /usli#s and 0hristians has led to religious clashes that have
le$t #any Sri Lankans with a $eeling o$ unease a$ter the civil war.
Sri Lanka1s #ainstrea# #edia #aintained an absolute #edia blanket during the
clashes and there was a co#-lete #edia blackout" which so#e suggest was a result
o$ govern#ent -ressure. 'he story reached a wider audience -ri#arily through the
e$$orts o$ social #edia )ournalists and activists" who care$ully u-dated twitter $eeds with
valuable in$or#ation A though their work led to a state-owned news-a-er dubbing
the# :twitter vultures.:
'he govern#ent has now assured the sa$ety o$ the /usli# co##unity" which consists
roughly 10 -ercent o$ Sri Lanka4s -o-ulation" but that did not -revent attacks on -laces
o$ worshi- and businesses last week. (odu (ala Sena have re-eatedly had rallies
cancelled and the -olice have banned rallies that incite hatred against other $aiths. 'he
/inister o$ 2oreign %$$airs 5.L. Peiris also convened a #eeting o$ $oreign
re-resentatives" including 'urkey4s a#bassador.
:'he greatness o$ an ethnic grou- can only be elevated by res-ecting the other and
not by attacking the other"7 said Ca)a-aksa $ro# /attala" a$ter the clashes. 6Let us )oin
hands in brotherhood as children o$ one #other in the sa#e way we do" when singing
the Dational %nthe# without dividing ourselves as Sinhala" /usli# and 'a#il.7
9t has been ++ years since Sri Lanka witnessed the events o$ 6(lack July7 but the
-ogro# against the 'a#il #inority" which drove #any $ro# the country" has not been
erased $ro# the island4s #e#ory. 8ith $ears heightened regarding $uture inter-
co##unal relations" the June 1! clashes have already been