In today's world, whenever we hear the term 'extremists', our minds usually conjure up images of 9/11, suicide bombers, and the Boston Marathon. This has been our American experience with extremists. But Muslims are not the only group with believers that are willing to go to the extreme. There are those that are Christians who have blown up abortion clinics or killed abortion doctors in the name God. And I'm sure the name West Boro Baptist Church speaks for itself. But another group that we might not be as familiar with here in America are the Bodu Bala Sena, a Sinhalese Buddhist group that has become increasingly radical. According to TRAC (Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium) the BBS was formed in 2012 when they broke away from the JHU claiming that they were not militant enough in protecting Buddhism. TRAC also states that "the BBS seeks the enforcement of Buddhist
Even though the media seems to be focusing mostly on the BBS's attacks on Muslim communities, Christians are being attacked as well. At one time, Sri Lanka was famous for opening its doors to refugees on the continent who were fleeing persecution, whether they were Muslim, Hindus, or Christians. Now, it seems that this group has decided that there is no room in Sri Lanka for diversity. As we lift up the Christians in Sri Lanka, let us pray that they have the strength to show God's love to their enemies, even in the midst of chaos and hatred. May the Christians there be a light in the darkness, and may the transcending power of God's love wipe away the hatred that is sweeping through this nation.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sri Lanka
Basic Info: Sri Lanka is an island slightly larger than West Virginia with a strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes. Sinhala is the official and national language spoken by 74%, but Tamil is also a national language spoken by 18%. English is spoken competently by about 10% of the population, is commonly used in government, and is referred to as the link language in the constitution. Of the 20 million people, the Sinhalese are the majority with 73.8%, and some of the minorities are Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, and Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9% (2001). In 2011, only 15.1% of the total population is urban, but 91.2% are literate. Sri Lanka is primarily a source and, to a much lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Some Sri Lankan adults and children who migrate willingly to the Middle East, Malaysia, and Singapore to work as domestic servants, construction workers, or garment factory workers face conditions indicative of forced labor. Some Sri Lankan women are forced into prostitution in Jordan, Singapore, Maldives, and other countries. Within Sri Lanka, women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels, while other children are forced to work in the agriculture, fireworks, and fish-drying industries. Sri Lanka does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but it is making significant efforts to do so. Law enforcement efforts and victim protection, particularly identification, are very weak, with no reported prosecutions or convictions under the country's penal code article prohibiting human trafficking. Also, government employees' complicity in trafficking offenses remains a problem. The government has not approved its draft standard operating procedures for identifying trafficking victims and referring them to protective services. This means that victims may have been punished for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked. The government adopted an anti-trafficking action plan in 2012.
Government: The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948 as a republic; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists (mostly Hindus) erupted into war in 1983. After two decades of fighting, Norway managed to broker peace negotiations between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and formalized a cease-fire in February 2002. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. By May 2009, the government announced that its military had defeated the remnants of the LTTE. Since the end of the conflict, the government has enacted an ambitious program of economic development projects, many of which are financed by loans from the Government of China. In addition to efforts to reconstruct its economy, the government has resettled more than 95% of those civilians who were displaced during the final phase of the conflict and released the vast majority of former LTTE combatants captured by Government Security Forces. But as of 2014, there were still up to 90,000 internally displaced persons, and more than half were displaced prior to 2008. Although 480,000 IDP's have registered as returnees, many of them have not reached durable solutions. At the same time, there has been little progress on more contentious and politically difficult issues such as reaching a political settlement with Tamil elected representatives and holding accountable those alleged to have been involved in human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict. The legal system is a mixture of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and Jaffna Tamil customary law.
Economy: Sri Lanka continues to experience strong economic growth following the end of the 26-year conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The government has been pursuing large-scale reconstruction and development projects in its efforts to spur growth in war-torn and disadvantaged areas, develop small and medium enterprises and increase agricultural productivity. The government's high debt payments and bloated civil service have contributed to historically high budget deficits, but fiscal consolidation efforts and strong GDP growth in recent years have helped bring down the government's fiscal deficit. However, low tax revenues are a major concern. The 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession exposed Sri Lanka's economic vulnerabilities and nearly caused a balance of payments crisis. Agriculture slowed due to a drought and weak global demand affected exports and trade. About 8.9% are below the poverty line. In early 2012, Sri Lanka floated the rupee, resulting in a sharp depreciation, and took steps to curb imports. A large trade deficit remains a concern, but strong remittances from Sri Lankan workers abroad help offset the trade deficit. Government debt of about 80% of GDP remains among the highest in emerging markets.
The government operates 8 TV channels and a radio network. Multi-channel satellite and cable TV subscription services are available, and there are 35 private TV stations and about 50 radio stations (2012).
Religion: Buddhist (official) 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001)
The persecution of Christians has escalated in recent years with the
rise of militant Buddhist nationalist groups in Sri Lanka. Extremist Buddhist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Strong
Army) and the Sinhala Rawaya (Sinhala Echo) have incited religious
disharmony and carried out malicious attacks, targeting both Christian
and Muslim minorities in the country. More than 250
churches have been destroyed or damaged in sectarian violence. In a wave of violence, around 30 churches have come under attack this
year alone. In 2012, there were 52 reported incidents of persecution.
Quite alarmingly, these attacks have occurred with impunity, and with
little or no state action to prosecute those responsible. In addition to the rising violence, churches are also facing
restriction in the form of forced closure by the authorities. For
instance, local governments and police have ordered many churches to
close down, claiming that they are not authorized by the state. In a recent incident in the Hambantota district, authorities called on certain evangelical churches to confirm their legality, warning church leaders that failure to do so will result in the closure of churches. Although
the constitution guarantees religious freedom while favouring Buddhism,
minority Protestants have experienced violent persecution as well as
discrimination in employment
and education. Less than 1 percent of the population is Protestant. For
many years the JHU party, which is controlled by Buddhist monks, has
pushed for legislation making conversion from Buddhism to Christianity
illegal. While several bills have been introduced, they have not passed
court and legislative challenges.
However, these extremist groups seem to have the unspoken support of government officials. Despite eye-witness testimonies and video and photographic evidence, no arrests have been made in the majority of the above mentioned cases. As a result, perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. The apathetic lack of response shown by law enforcement agencies reveals the fact that they are merely being passive observers to the ongoing violations against basic human rights and liberties, especially concerning religious freedom and the economic and cultural rights of minority religious communities. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the Buddhist holy man who is the general secretary and public face of the Bodu Bala Sena, said at a rally that the Sri Lankan police and army are Sinhalese. The threat to minorities in that comment was made very clear. The NCEASL has called upon the government of Sri Lanka to seriously evaluate its position on the country's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, in an effort to prevent empowering extremist organizations. By directing law and security authorities to take a proactive stance against such injustice through the enforcement of laws protecting the rights of minorityreligious groups , representatives are essentially striving for greater peace and harmony among all the inhabitants of Sri Lanka.
The BBS (Bodu Bala Sena)
Originally the BBS were a fringe movement, but they have been increasing in influence among the Buddhist clergy. A former Sri Lankan diplomat and political scientist, Dayan Jayatilleke, warned that the group needs to be taken seriously. He called the group's politics "saffron fascism" and described it as "a wholesaler of the ideology of hate, especially Islamophobia." Jayatilleke also said that there had been a "fanatical strain running through Sinhala Buddhism for years." One prime minister, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, was assassinated by a monk in 1959.
However, these extremist groups seem to have the unspoken support of government officials. Despite eye-witness testimonies and video and photographic evidence, no arrests have been made in the majority of the above mentioned cases. As a result, perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. The apathetic lack of response shown by law enforcement agencies reveals the fact that they are merely being passive observers to the ongoing violations against basic human rights and liberties, especially concerning religious freedom and the economic and cultural rights of minority religious communities. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the Buddhist holy man who is the general secretary and public face of the Bodu Bala Sena, said at a rally that the Sri Lankan police and army are Sinhalese. The threat to minorities in that comment was made very clear. The NCEASL has called upon the government of Sri Lanka to seriously evaluate its position on the country's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, in an effort to prevent empowering extremist organizations. By directing law and security authorities to take a proactive stance against such injustice through the enforcement of laws protecting the rights of minority
The BBS (Bodu Bala Sena)
Originally the BBS were a fringe movement, but they have been increasing in influence among the Buddhist clergy. A former Sri Lankan diplomat and political scientist, Dayan Jayatilleke, warned that the group needs to be taken seriously. He called the group's politics "saffron fascism" and described it as "a wholesaler of the ideology of hate, especially Islamophobia." Jayatilleke also said that there had been a "fanatical strain running through Sinhala Buddhism for years." One prime minister, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, was assassinated by a monk in 1959.
The Bodu
Bala Sena was formed in 2012 when Gnanasara and a fellow monk broke away from another
monk-led Sinhalese nationalist party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), in order to more actively "defend" Sinhalese Buddhism. Since its formation, the
group has campaigned on issues including alleged poor treatment of Sri
Lankan Buddhists working in the Middle East, Christian evangelization,
anti-Buddhist riots in Bangladesh and hotels featuring "Buddha bars"
popular with foreign tourists, often storming venues in organized
"direct actions" to make its point. But overwhelmingly its target has been the Sri Lanka's Muslim community, which accounts for about 10% of the population.
Paikiasothy
Saravanamuttu, executive director of Sri Lanka's Centre for Policy
Alternatives, believed the group had become encouraged by the lack of censure over
the events at Aluthgama, when mobs torched some Muslim businesses. "Their more violent or aggressive demonstrations of power, involving even criminal acts, have gone unpunished." He added that there had been insufficient denunciation of the group, both from Buddhist authorities and the state. "Disciplinary action
should be taken from within the priesthood against people who are, in
the name of Buddhism, violating every single thing that Buddhism stands
for."
Saravanamuttu believes that this increase in hatred for Muslims came about as a result of the Sinhalese(Buddhist)/Tamil(Hindu) conflict. "When the war was over, the Sinhalese looked around and found that while the two major communities were bashing each other, the Muslims had been at peace and had prospered," he said. "They found more mosques, stores, better educated young Muslims -- a changed profile after years of war. And they lashed out." Jayatilleke seems to agree with him, saying that anti-Muslim sentiment within the Buddhist clergy had only arisen since 2009, when the 25-year civil war between the government and separatist Tamil rebels ended. Saravanamuttu said the BBS's anti-Muslim rhetoric tapped into concerns about global jihadism, an "atavistic fear" of high Muslim birth rates and resentment of the perceived success of the Muslim business community. They have also protested the halal certification, the burqa, mosque construction, Islamic conversion and alleged Islamic militancy -- in a country with no history of domestic Islamic extremism.
Saravanamuttu believes that this increase in hatred for Muslims came about as a result of the Sinhalese(Buddhist)/Tamil(Hindu) conflict. "When the war was over, the Sinhalese looked around and found that while the two major communities were bashing each other, the Muslims had been at peace and had prospered," he said. "They found more mosques, stores, better educated young Muslims -- a changed profile after years of war. And they lashed out." Jayatilleke seems to agree with him, saying that anti-Muslim sentiment within the Buddhist clergy had only arisen since 2009, when the 25-year civil war between the government and separatist Tamil rebels ended. Saravanamuttu said the BBS's anti-Muslim rhetoric tapped into concerns about global jihadism, an "atavistic fear" of high Muslim birth rates and resentment of the perceived success of the Muslim business community. They have also protested the halal certification, the burqa, mosque construction, Islamic conversion and alleged Islamic militancy -- in a country with no history of domestic Islamic extremism.
Jayatilleke said President Rajapaksa appears to have
made a calculation not to crack down on the BBS, as to do so ran the
risk of triggering rioting, or making martyrs of them to their support
base in the security forces. "He doesn't want to make a hero of this guy. They'll probably box him in rather than lock him up." Saravanamuttu predicted that in the absence of any censure, an emboldened BBS would only escalate its activities. "Impunity breeds further
violation," he said. "If this is a country of law, it needs to be
brought to bear on whoever breaks it -- irrespective of whether they're
in robes or not."
Information compiled from CNN World by Journalist Iqbal Athas in Sri Lanka;CIAWorldFactBook "Sri Lanka"
