Cardinal Ranjith denies Catholic involvement in Lanka anti-Muslim riots
Posted on May 14th, 2019
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Colombo, May 14 (newsin.asia): The head of the Catholic church in Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, told newspersons here on Tuesday, that the clashes in the North-Western Provinces have no religious nuances and that the attacks on Muslim properties appear to have been carried out by political and not religious elements.
What we see is more a political crisis where certain political parties and their agents at the base level have run out of control and they go and attack these people unnecessarily. I don’t think there are religious nuances,” the Cardinal said.
The Catholics of Sri Lanka, even those in Negombo where they are in sizeable numbers, have been quiet following the Cardinal’s appeal not to retaliate or take the law into their hands after eight suicide bombers, belonging to the National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ) and the Jamaathei Millathu Ibrahimi (JMI) attacked three churches and three hotels in the island on April 21 killing 253 persons, mostly Catholics attending the Easter Mass.
Fr.Edmund Thilakaratne ,a spokesman of the Catholic church said that if the Catholics were to take revenge against the Muslims, they would have done so in the first two days. But they did not because they had been persuaded by the Cardinal not to precipitate a fresh communal problem.
The present riots, taking place two weeks after the Eastern Sunday carnage, appear to be the handiwork of outside political elements,” Fr.Thilakaratne said.
Sure enough the police on Tuesday arrested Dan Priyasad, lader of the Buddhist extremist organization Nawa Sinhale National Organization.He had surrendered to the police.
Misleading Reports
However international agencies had gone to town describing the rioting as a Christian-Muslim clash.
AFP described the rioters as Christian-led”. But at the same time quoted a police officer saying: There is a strong political element to the riots today. There are people trying to make political capital out of this situation.”
Muslim Leader’s Appeal
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem on Tuesday called on the Prime Minister and tri-forces commanders to control the violent incidents in the country in absence of the President, who is in China attending a conference on Asian civilizations.
In a statement, Hakeem sought protection for Muslims who are suffering for a dastardly crime committed by a few with whom the larger Muslim community has nothing to do with whatsoever”.
With the danger of the terrible experience snowballing into a more complex conundrum, we urge the government and the Armed Forces to curb continued violence against the innocent Muslims in the country,” he said.
He said it was dreadful and frightening to witness the unfolding events as innocent men, women and children of the Muslim community are targeted in reprisal for the horrendous and beastly attacks by some extremists on April 21.
May 14th, 2019 at 5:07 pm
It is definitely not ordinary folks who did these. These were hooligans paid by Batalande Run-nil and the American backed UNP.
Cunning My3 allowed Run-nil to do the dirty work and escaped to China for a “Civilisation” conference. What a joke for an uncivilised back stabbing Appa cheater attending a Civilisation matter.
This is a game these two are playing. Maru Sira also wants to be in power for ever and will not hesitate to pave the way for American troops to land here by allowing riots similar to 1983.
• JR brought Indian army in the name of IPKF
• Run-nil is going to do a much bigger damage by bringing NATO or American army, may be by saying to save innocent Muslim community.
This UNP ruined our motherland.
All patriotic UNP supporters should leave this traitorous party.
May 14th, 2019 at 9:09 pm
Sinhalese especially Buddhist should be careful not to get involved in a thing well crafted by a set of unpatriotic rats. It is now obvious that Prez purposely took over the defense to keep security chiefs under the thumb and connived with the inimical forces to carry out a start of a genocide. All the indications are that the responsibility for this will go on the shoulders of Buddhists.
A leader of a country well known for promotion of terrorism was spending time in our country. Can our security apparatus tell what was happening during that time?.
And our leader was in Singapore when this happened and he told a blatant lie that he came to know it from social media unashamedly, despite the fact that it has been discussed several times in the SEC. He then came and celebrated his son’s wedding; this is a heinous crime committed by our head of state. Its akin to playing fiddle when Rome was under fire.
I appeal to Mahanayakes and the Catholic clergy not to go behind these politicos but to tell people to change the whole set up. If not these people drag us to extinction. I also appeal to the west and China not to get involved in our affairs; our security forces are quite capable of handling this.
May 14th, 2019 at 10:25 pm
This was not done by Christians. If they did it they would have done it a few days after the terrorist act.
No Christian leader (religious or political) has made inflamatory speeches against Muslims comparable to BBS.
This is the work of an organized violent mob trying to bring down the country to the level of the 1915 Muslim-Buddhist riot. Most likely it was the same group that instigated violence in Aluthgama in 2014 and Digana in 2019.
May 14th, 2019 at 11:52 pm
I am sorry what I meant was the “law and order” in the above comment and not defense. It was reported in the media that the security threat was discussed many times in the SEC since the info was given. So, at least a hint should have been given to the church to avoid a carnage.
May 15th, 2019 at 4:29 pm
This is the work of thugs working for Muslim or Sinhala political worms greedy of power taking advantage of the situation. you can clearly see how organised they were. Nothing to do with BBS, Mahason , Sinhal-Le or any other Sinhala groups who have been warning of Muslim extremists for last 10 years.