Dr Dayan Jayatilleka There are scarier things, worse things, than Black July ’83. Aluthgama signaled the possibility of such things. The sequence of events, the lethal violence, the horror of Aluthgama were reminiscent of July ’83 —and to go by Tarzie Vittachchi’s Emergency ’58, the anti-Tamil riots of that year. That is the element of dark continuity, which we must never forget in our haste to define the present as the worst of times. But there is also the element of discontinuity which makes Aluthgama potentially far more dangerous. If…
Read MoreDay: 21 June 2014
“Anti-Muslim Attacks Well-Planned Government Effort” Says Mangala
The Rajapaksa brothers should bear the responsibility of every drop of blood shed during the Aluthgamaviolence and at anti-Muslim clashes that occurred subsequently, UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera says. MP Samaraweera in a statement that was issued last night has held the Rajapaksa brothers responsible for the anti-Muslim violence that erupted in the country since last week, adding they owe an answer to the public – particularly to the victims of communal violence who lost their loved ones and suffered extensive property damages due to the clashes. The statement released by the MP further…
Read MoreIs Muslim identity a liability in Sri Lanka?
Rising attacks against Muslims by Buddhist supremacist groups raise questions about community’s safety. TAMIL – Done Nearly Extinct MUSLIM – Game is ON CHRISTIANS – Date to be Confirmed Never again 1983! Sri Lankans had so resolved after the horrors of the July 1983 – the darkest and the bloodiest month in the island nation’s post-independence history, the month that plunged this country into a 26-year separatist war, the month that brought an international shame on the South Asian country. Even when Buddhism’s holiest shrine in Sri Lanka – the…
Read MoreCombating religious extremism!
Combating religious extremism! Watareka Vijitha Thera, a monk who has been at loggerheads with the extremist Buddhist association, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) was on Thursday found with grievous injuries, abandoned under a bridge in Hirana, Panadura. The monk was abducted in the previous night from his temple by unidentified men, who reportedly tortured him, before he was dumped in Hirana with his arms and legs bound. Vijitha Thera, who is receiving treatment at the National Hospital has accused the BBS for the attack. The Thera is an arch-enemy of the BBS,…
Read MorePolice security withdrawn two weeks before brutal attack on the Monk who was friendly with Muslims!
20/06/2014 Police protection for Ven. Wetarekka Vijitha Thera had been withdrawn two weeks before Thursday’s brutal attack on him, BBS a racist organisation which has the backing of the Rajapaksha family has threatened to attack him. Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana, contacted for comment, said yesterday that the thera had been given police protection for one and a half months following an attempt by a mob allegedly instigated by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to attack the Thera, at the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha, when he came to attend its sitting in April.…
Read MorePresident Needs Evidence, OK Listen To This Barbaric, Uncultured So Called ‘Monk’
By Rifai Naleemi – Who Is Responsible For Racial Attacks on Innocent Muslims in Aluthgama? Finally, after all these atrocities against innocent Muslims in Aluthgama, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has requested Muslim MPs to produce evidence for the racist attacks. This is a rather sarcastic, mocking request from our President. One wonders, where does our president live? Does he live in Sri Lanka or on another planet? It is self-evident that all these racist attacks are carried out by BBS cohorts following the inflammatory speech of its Secretary General. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero has been inciting Muslims for…
Read MoreMinorities in Sri Lanka face growing terror
Buddhist Sinhalese terrorists have been instigating attacks against the island’s minorities, particularly the Muslims The region is deeply engrossed in events around Iraq and the implication of a wider scale sectarian conflict that may spill across several borders. Lost in the quagmire of such a troubling issue is the conflict against minorities, and particularly Muslim minorities, in several countries. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) a body of 45 Muslim member countries was formed some 45 years ago to deal with such issues. Although its founding members agreed on the…
Read MoreSenior (Dummy) Minister Fowzie wants violence probed
Senior Minister of Urban Affairs, A.H.M. Fowzie has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to call for an investigation into the violence that erupted in Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town, in order to determine if it was a coup targetting the President.Minister Fowzie had wanted to meet President Rajapaksa at the height of the clashes this week, but had been unable to do so as the President had been in Bolivia, when the incidents had taken place. The incidents may have been directed at the President, and it is therefore, of paramount…
Read MoreDid the BBS attack Vijitha Thero again?
Venerable Watareka Vijitha Thero is a Buddhist Monk and the Chief Incumbent of the Rotalawela Mahaweli Maha Viharaya in Mahiyanganaya, in the Uva province. Vijitha Thero is also an elected member of the Mahiyangana Pradeshiya Sabha (a local government council in the Badulla district, in the Uva province), representing the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). He has also been appointed as an all island Justice of the Peace[1]. Amongst Buddhist Monks, Vijitha Thero has immerged as the most prominent and consistent public critique of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS…
Read MoreInvestigate The Links Between BBS And Military – HRW Tells Sri Lanka
The Human Rights Watch has called on the Government of Sri Lanka to go beyond simply arresting those carrying out anti-Muslim violence and to step up measures implemented to tackle violence against minorities by investigating and identifying instigators. In a statement issued by the HRW on Thursday, it’s Director (Asia) Brad Adams had called on the government of Sri Lanka to take a ‘hard look at the role and relationship between extremist Buddhist groups like the BBS and the Sri Lankan security forces’. Following is the statement: The Sri Lankan authorities should…
Read MoreSri Lanka’s Largest Muslim Owned “NOLIMIT” Panadura Currently In Flames
The flagship store of the countrys largest Muslim clothing chain “NOLIMIT” Panadura is currently in flames after a mob set fire to it early this morning. Four fire brigade trucks are currently attempting to douse the fire, but according the eye witnesses, are failing due to the sheer magnitude of the fire. The building situated in the Panadura town is the largest clothing store in the area and the largest No limit outlet in the country. The clothing chain was identified and repeatedly attacked by the Bodu Bala Sena in successive speeches…
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