Lankan Rights Body blames “organized external elements” for anti-Muslim riots
Posted on March 8th, 2018
Courtesy
Colombo, March 8 (newsin.asia): The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has blamed organized external elements” for the anti-Muslim riots in Central Sri Lanka.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Chairperson of the HRCSL, Dr.Deepika Udagama, has said that the riots in Digana, Teldeniya and other places, appear to he instigated by external elements in an organized manner.”
It pointed out that the communities targeted had been living together in communal peace and harmony till violence was unleashed by such external elements.
The letter also noted that the violence had occurred against the backdrop of a sustained hate campaign against certain religious groups on the social media.”
The Commission sought action against those who instigate or provide organizational support and strength for such violence.”
It called for the full implementation of Sec 3 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights Act 56 of 2007, which says that anyone who propagates or advocates racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination ,hostility or violence, and aids or abets such acts, is guilty of an offense.
(The featured image at the top is that of the family of M.D.Kumarasinghe whose killing by a unruly group of Muslims sparked off the anti-Muslim riots in Kandy district: Photo: Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu)
March 8th, 2018 at 2:17 am
All politicians , at all times must remember that Sri Lanka is the homeland of the Sinhalese and they are around 74 percent of the population and more than 70 percent are Budhists. All countries in the world have ethnic minorities and from time to time , they face various forms of discrimination. Sri Lanka is no different and human beings are the same all over the world. Under the British rule, the Lankan Public Service had a disproportionate number of Tamils. Sri Lankas
majority Sinhalese have displayed greater tolerance, than most others. Violence and ethnic unrest is something that the country cannot afford to have, and the causes have to be addressed honestly and immediately.
March 8th, 2018 at 4:08 am
What I can see is suddenly there is a coordinated attack on those who exposed of all recent injustice against Sinhala people by Muslims. All of a sudden Rishard Bathudin has become a good person. Suddenly, Ranil WIckremasinghe has become a good person. Suddenly those who report Wilpattu forest rape, those who report underground Jihadist and Wahabism have become the instigators of racial riots. Just because Ganansara went there, whole world is now blaming BBS.
These attacks on exposure of truth is so well coordinated and in the future no one would report these incidents. Some groups calling themselves saviours of the nation will have the opportunity to win Muslim votes on the basis of allowing completely out of proportionate Muslim expansionism.
March 8th, 2018 at 10:09 am
Nanda
What I can see is suddenly there is a coordinated attack on those who exposed of all recent injustice against Sinhala people by Muslims.- Ok ok what happened to our forces & their weapon ??? at least can they shoot on the sky ????
March 8th, 2018 at 4:35 pm
INDEED, President Mahinda Rajapakse is DEAD on TARGET! It had occurred to me that NOT ONLY the UNP, BUT ALSO the Tamil Separatists, get a BENEFIT from DESTABILIZING the country by PITTING the Sinhala and Mulim People against each other AT THIS TIME!
AT THIS TIME, when the UN is REVIEWING how Sri Lanka has implemented the promises that Treacherous Western Lackey Avamangala Samaraweera made in Geneva, the Muslim – Sinhala Conflict will ADD FUEL to the COMMUNAL FIRE, CONFIRMS their own ALLEGATIONS of Discrimination, and helps support the DEMANDS of the EELAMISTS for a SEPARATELY Self-Governing Region SOLELY for THEMSELVES!
Whenever some MINORITY GROUP wants to ACQUIRE MORE POWER in Sri Lanka, they CREATE a COMMUNAL CONFLICT, and get automatic INTERNATIONAL sympathy. This has NOW BECOME a ROUTINE STRATEGY for minorities to ACQUIRE POWER & RIGHTS that go ABOVE & BEYOND the rights of the MAJORITY COMMUNITY.
Therefore, we PATRIOTS must ASK OURSELVES, who REALLY ENGINEERED THIS CONFLICT: The UNP to stay in Power, the Tamil Separatists to STRENGTHEN their DEMAND for a SEPARATE EXISTENCE, or Muslim FANATICS who want to CONVERT Sri Lanka GRADUALLY into a Muslim Country?
THERE is MUCH MORE to the CURRENT Communal Conflagaration than meets the EYE! The NEXT PATRIOTIC Govt (NOT the current Yamapalanaya for that would be asking the FOX to MIND the HEN HOUSE!) MUST UNDERTAKE a DETAILED IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION of this issue!
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MR urges people to be wary of sinister plans to divide country
March 7, 2018, 11:18 pm
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday warned that some sinister forces, bent on destabilising the country, were trying to engineer another 1983 style conflagration to drum up international support for their constitutional reforms, aimed at dividing the country into several semi-independent states.
Rajapaksa said the gravitation of a section of the Muslim population towards communal political parties had made it easy for the siniser forces to create tensions between the Sinhalese and Muslims by using agent provocateurs.
“I call on citizens belonging to all communities to reflect intelligently on what has been happening and to refrain from
all acts of violence”, he said.
Following is the text of the ex-President’s statement:
Several violent incidents have taken place in Digana after a Sinhala truck driver died in hospital following an assault by a group of Muslim men. The police have made some arrests, but they are yet to be formally identified as the perpetrators of this murder. The full severity of the law should be brought to bear on those responsible. The government should provide adequate compensation to the family of the victim. Following the violent incidents that occurred in Digana, the body of a Muslim youth has been found in a damaged house. Thus two murders have now taken place. The government has imposed a state of emergency in the country. However, even at the time of issuing this statement, tensions have not abated completely. This is the second clash between the Sinhala and Muslim communities within a week. Just days ago there was an incident in Ampara. A few months earlier, there was the Gintota incident and several other incidents in 2017 as well.
The only one way to prevent these clashes is the strict enforcement of the law. Unrest is often generated by real or perceived police inaction in relation to a complaint. The police should respond to disputes or conflicts between different communal groups promptly and decisively. Above all, mob violence and collective punishments against uninvolved persons should be prevented at all costs. It is the task of the government to direct the police properly in handling such situations. The local and foreign forces seeking to destabilise this country are trying to engineer another 1983 style conflagration to drum up support for their constitutional reforms which seek to divide this country into several semi-independent states. I call on citizens belonging to all communities to reflect intelligently on what has been happening and to refrain from all acts of violence.
In the first few years after independence, Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim leaders ruled this country together as partners. G.G. Ponnabalam had a warm and cordial relationship with the Senanayakes. That era ended in the mid-1950s as communalism and separatism came into Northern Tamil politics. In the past, the two main political parties had Muslim leaders like A.C.S. Hameed, M.H. Mohamed, Badiudin Mohamed and Alavi Moulana who were elected to Parliament not only by Muslims but also by Sinhalese voters. During those decades, tensions between the Sinhalese and the Muslims were virtually non-existent.
But since the late 1980s a section of the Muslim population has gravitated towards communal political parties. This has made it easy for conspiratorial forces both local and foreign to inflame tensions between the Sinhalese and the Muslims by using agents provocateurs. The tension that we see now between the Sinhalese and the Muslims is a fairly recent phenomenon. Everyone will remember that such tensions did not exist until about 2012. What was started by conspirators who are now in the yahapalana government, for the purpose of dislodging my government, now appears to have taken on a life of its own and mistrust between the communities is growing by the day.
Even though there are large numbers of Tamils in the north and east, the majority of the Tamil population permanently resides outside the north and east, among the majority Sinhalese. Similarly though there is a significant concentration of Muslims in the east, the vast majority of the Muslims permanently live outside the east, among Sinhalese and Tamils. What we are now experiencing is the mismatch between this demographic reality and communalist politics. The very logic of communal politics requires the portrayal of other ethnic and religious groups as enemies or rivals. Today, the situation is such that a dispute or clash between individuals belonging to different religions or ethnicities, automatically leads to a communal riot that spreads throughout the area.
Obviously this is not a situation that can be allowed to continue. There is a need to create in this country a nationalistic alliance comprising Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim leaders resembling the first post-independence government. This is not going to be an easy task given the poisonous contagion of communalism that has spread in this country over the past several decades. However on the basis of the recently concluded local government elections, I have reason to be cautiously optimistic that a window of opportunity exists to be able to turn back the tide of communalism. I intend initiating a dialogue in this regard with national minded Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim individuals and organisations in due course.