Sri Lanka court orders police to arrest the suspects of church attack in Hikkaduwa tourist town

Sri Lanka's Galle Additional Magistrate Gunendra Kumara yesterday ordered Assistant Superintendent Police of Galle Upali Bandaranaike to arrest 26 identified suspects of the attack on two Christian religious places in southern tourist town Hikkaduwa.

Police submitted the report to the courts yesterday. According to the report 10 Buddhist monks are in the list of suspects who ransacked the property of two prayer centers of Assembly of God.

A group of extremist Buddhist monks and laymen attacked two Christian religious centers on January 12 in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka's tourist city in the south.

Buddhist Organizations in Hikkaduwa staged a protest in the area against Christian prayer centers operating in the region.

The monk-led mob resisted the police and destroyed the property hurling stones at the two prayer centers. The mob broke doors, windows and burnt religious signs and books.

Local media videoed the violence and broadcast in the evening news on TV channels.

The residents of these religious places were threatened and the police temporarily closed the main Galle Road as residents entered the Galle Road passing the Hikkaduwa town.

The Buddhist monks that led the protest said that the administrative authorities had ordered the prayer centers withdrawn.

However, the pastors in charge of these centers said they were registered duly and the eviction order is illegal.

The rising religious intolerance from extremist Buddhist monks-led organizations in Sri Lanka has raised alarms among the moderate public and if authorities fail to take adequate measures to curtail the violence the actions of thes extremist groups would have serious consequences, civil society leaders warn.

Are Buddhist extremists planning to create a bigger movement of violence manipulating state military or will they venture into terrorism of Al Qaeda type?

Indian police is after two Muslims who are suspected of planting bombs in World Heritage Buddhagaya (Bodhgaya), Buddhists' sacred shrine where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.

Sri Lankans have a Buddhist temple in Mahabodhi temple complex where more than a dozen such temples are located. It is a place belonged to India but common for Buddhists from all over the island.

Originally Buddhism is a religion based on non-violence. In recent times, certain Buddhist monks in Burma and Sri Lanka inculcated extremist doctrine specially against Muslims and other minority religions in their countries.

These monks are in politics and I think they chose Muslims to extricate their wrath not because they are any actual threat to Buddhism but they are already in war with powerful Western super powers. The political Buddhist monks in these countries have always being with power. They are unarmed. They do not need arms because they attempt manipulating entire state armed structures for their purposes.

To prove my logic, I can say that conversions were extremely few in the country from Buddhism to Islam. Conversions from Buddhism to evangelical Christianity is much higher than that and there was a fight against them launched by radical Buddhist monks. But the enemy was too big for them and they gave it up for a weaker but formidable Islam enemy that is already under siege.

The Buddhist extremists have now achieved their basic object which is gaining international fame. Time magazine covered the subject and the Buddhist terrorism has been now introduced to world as a formidable power. They lured Muslim extremists to their trap and OK now its on the go full throttle.

I have one question to ask from the Buddhist extremists. Are you planning to create a bigger movement of violence manipulating state military or will you venture into terrorism of Al Qaeda type?

I pity you, I am a secular man.

Buddhist extremist kangaroo court Ravana Balaya excerts hatred on evangelical Christian group

Sri Lanka's Buddhist extremist Ravana Balaya organization which is raising its head as a kangaroo court style terror squad today rounded up a group of evangelical Christians that were distributing a religious magazine in the outskirts of Colombo city and handed over them to the police.

The group of persons that came under the threat of the Buddhist monks of the Ravana Balaya was Jehovah's Witnesses who were distributing the Sinhala version of an international magazine called 'Awake!.

Although there was no law to arrest such persons, police summoned to the scene by Buddhist monks took them to Mulleriyawa police station and held them there. They were released after the involvement of officials from the headquarters of the religious organization and news videos showed in television the leader of the Ravana Balaya Ittekande Saddhathissa Thero severely warning them right inside the police station.

Ravana Balaya involved in a number of similar kangaroo court  trials in the last week. They forcibly entered as a mob into the Met Department to question the officials regarding failure to forecast . Rushed into Sri Lanka Cricket to inquire why a Hindi song was played as lion flag was carried to the ground at the inauguration. In another incident, which I actually did not read but one of my friends reported, Ravana Balaya bullied a bucket maker who had used some discarded paper with Buddhist symbols for making Vesak lanterns.

This is an interesting phenomenon and recalls the kangaroo courts of the People's Liberation Front (JVP) in the 1987-89 insurrection period. But the JVP's campaign was bolder and bloodier. They touched all social evils and succeeded in banning things like heroine though temporarily. JVP banned lottery tickets as well. But interestingly, this Buddhist extremist group is totally dumb before the rise of casino in Sri Lanka under the patronage of the top level government officers.