The crux of the matter
Posted on June 20th, 2014
Ranjith Soysa
The recent unfortunate incidents which took place in Aluthgama are a continuation of series of unenviable conflicts among some sections of the Sinhalese and the Muslim community for last so manyyears. When one section resorts to the visible extremist tactics to gaintheir ends the other section follows the crafty but very effective covert methods to achieve their objectives. To ignore this basic reality will only provide fodder to ignite the situation filled with lethal gas.
We have to admit the existence of Bodu Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya as much as Wahabbists, Jihadists and Talibans in the extreme wings of Sinhalese and Muslims. While in general their is no racial or religious tensions among the main streams of both groups the above mentioned combinations continue to spread their visions and programs attracting segments from the main streams.
If the Government is really interested to stifle extremist activities , it should apply the rule of law to send a message ofto all parties and also set up a very high level commission to listen to the issues projected by the groups with a view to separatethe chaff from the wheat. One can recollect that there were incidents of minor gravity in Deegavapi, Muhudu Maha Viharaya, Kuragala ,Dambullla, Puttalam , and Vilpattu etc before Aluthgama.
If the rule of law was strictly applied without fear or favor whilst creating a body to give a hearing to both sides a calamitous situation could have been avoided as the majority of the two groups are keen on peaceful existence.
June 20th, 2014 at 4:56 pm
EXACTLY!
PLUS none other than INTERPOL confirms the presence of TALIBAN, AL QAEDA and JIHAD terrorist groups in SL.
If govt. wants to ban BBS, GOOD. But ban SLMC and TNA too.
June 20th, 2014 at 5:13 pm
I wrote a comment in the Times of India in an article titled “Sri Lankan Muslims cut back Friday prayers after unrest”. It is under “world news”:
“Excuse me for I am only a Buddhist”. Maybe that is what Buddhists need to say to the world. Of all the major religions of the world excluding Sikhism and Judaism, Buddhism has been on the defensive for a thousand years. India was her birthplace and Buddhism gave to the world her first Universities. With the onset of Islam the famous Buddhist University of Nalanda was not simply destroyed, it was obliterated by Mohammed Kilji. That act ended the illustrious age of Buddhism in India that reigned from 500 BC with the teachings of Buddha, rose to prominence under Emperor Ashoka in 300 BC and was snuffed out in 1197 by the Muslim invader and vandal Mohammed Kilji. a period of 1600 years of Indian Buddhism came to an abrupt end.
In the 20th century Buddhism again was attacked by Communism (or an extreme version of Secularism). China the largest Buddhist nations succumbed to Maoist Communism. Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet fell to the same fate. In the early the mid 20th century Buddhism was on the retreat attacked by Islam, Christianity, Communism, and Secularism from alien cultures. Sri Lanka is the oldest unbroken Buddhist nation in the world with a civilization who has the pride to state it has also an unbroken written history. Only China shares that and even then it was under Buddhism. Then Sri Lanka had to face the specter of Hindu Tamil separatism for 30 years since she got her independence. Again Buddhism was attacked and valiantly defended to defeat the Tamil Separatists and once more unite the nation.
Now it faces the insidious expansion of Islam on the one hand and evangelical Christianity on the other. “Buddhist” Sri Lanka has faced such attacks upon her faith before to a world that thought it morally right to do so. Now the world simply ignores the expansions of these alien faiths in Buddhist land calling it “a harmonious existence of diversity”. It is not. It is the very act of tearing apart the nation, culture and religion. Muslims know this quite well and have set up barricades in their Sharia law to avoid alien faiths from entering their nations, but use the laws of the host nation of a non Muslim nation to expand and negate the dominant faith. Sri Lankan maids have been raped by Muslims in the Middle East. Their lives ruined forever. When a Sinhalese boy faces the same in Sri Lanka the inevitable backlash is received by the world as the acts of “radical Buddhists” and not that of the mindset of a nation wounded by the brutal acts of Arabs and the expansion of Islam in Sri Lanka. So maybe a Buddhist should first say “please excuse me for I am Buddhist. Any infringement on my culture is okay for I dare not take action for you see I am simply a Buddhist, You Muslims can do what you want where you want when you want and the world will condone it. Excuse me for I am only a Buddhist”
June 20th, 2014 at 7:04 pm
Some TERRORISTS have set fire to a NO LIMIT store in Panathurai.
NOT GOOD.
It may be Muslim owners to get INSURANCE. Or it may be Tamil terrorists. Or it may be Sinhala terrorists.
It is NOT acceptable.
Instead everyone should BOYCOTT Muslim shops indefinitely until they STOP their extremism.
June 21st, 2014 at 6:17 pm
BOYCOTT MUSLIM STORES YES THAT IS THE ANSWER …BUT WILL THESE SINHALESE GET TOGETHER AND DO IT. THEY WILL DO IT IF THERE IS SOME GROUP LIKE deshapremi in j v p time force them to do it. NOT VOLUNTARILY
MAHINDA SHOULD TRUST 74% SINHALA BUDDHIST VOTERS AND CHASE AWAY MUSLIMS AND TAMILS from the govt. but he is scared even to think
June 21st, 2014 at 6:23 pm
I agree.
PEACEFULLY boycott all Muslims shops. Then we will have peace.