WAPS (World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka)
PO Box 4066, Mulgrave VIC 3170, Australia
Phone: +61 411 287 434, +61 2 9682 7864, +61 3 9548 0276
Fax: +61 2 9682 7864, +61 3 9584 0276
Email: mgunasekera@primus.ca, ranjiths@spur.asn.au, asokas@spur.asn.au
Website: http://www.spur.asn.au
By E-mail and Facsimile February 23, 2004

Petitions Team Mr. Abdelfattah Amor
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance
United Nations OHCHR – Palais Wilson
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Geneva 10, Switzerland

Honourable Members of the Petitions Team/ Special Rapporteur,

Press Release Ref: A05F/UA/2004 dated February 11, 2004 issued by the Tamil Centre
For Human Rights (TCHR) titled Hundreds of Christian Churches Vandalised in Sri Lanka

With reference to the above press release submitted to you by the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR), we wish to state that it is a patently biased petition by a front organization of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has been designated as an international terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council in terms of Resolution Number 1373. The incidents listed therein are to a great extent false and exaggerated and not reported in the Sri Lankan media. Yet another obvious question that comes to mind is why the TCHR is taking up this issue instead of the churches affected by the alleged incidents.

The Tamil Centre for Human Rights which is attempting to show itself as a Human Rights Watchdog has not said one word about the continuing violations of human rights of members of their own Tamil community residing in the North and East of Sri Lanka, at the hands of their parent organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Despite an assurance given by the LTTE to Mr. Olara Ottunnu, the UN’s Special Envoy for Children’s Rights to immediately stop the abduction and forced conscription of Tamil children into their fighting ranks, they brazenly continue to do so. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission comprising of Peace Monitors from the Nordic countries and UNICEF have reported that a total of 1722 children and 250 adults had been abducted during the two year ceasefire period alone which came into effect in February 2002. There are yet other violations such as the killing of 33 Tamils from other political parties who did not toe their line, extortion, and illegally holding nearly 1500 prisoners in dungeons in areas of the Vanni in Sri Lanka, where these men and women from the Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim communities are subjected to torture including forced draining of their blood for transfusions required for treating their injured cadres. The TCHR has also failed to speak up against the 265 suicide bombings carried out by the LTTE against civilian targets in Sri Lanka.

There have been numerous incidents of ethnic cleansing of the long resident Sinhala and Muslim communities in the North and East of Sri Lanka from around 1978 onwards. There is also clear evidence of the LTTE brutally attacking Buddhists meditating at the Sacred Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura killing 143 pilgrims, killing of 39 Buddhist monks at Arantalawa, and even bombing the most sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy venerated by Buddhists all over the world. Nearly 200 Muslims too have been gunned down whilst at prayer inside two of their mosques in Kattankudi.

Coming to the main issue contained in the petition, we wish to state that a few unfortunate incidents have taken place where churches had been vandalized by persons yet to be identified. In one instance so far, a Buddhist group has been implicated according to Police investigations. The Sri Lankan authorities have taken firm measures to prevent any further incidents by providing police protection and initiating investigations into the incidents. The Cabinet Minister for Christian Affairs, Hon. John Ameratunge who is himself a catholic was reported in the Island Newspaper of January 17, 2004 as having said that it was the work of the newly arrived Fundamentalist Christians, to create religious unrest between the Buddhists and members of the established Christian Churches in the island. According to the statement made by the Minister of Christian Affairs who was also earlier the Minister of Interior Security including the Police, the wounds have been self inflicted by the new church groups that seek to aggressively convert Buddhists, Hindus and even Catholics to their newly formed Evangelical churches.

These Evangelical Missions whose main agenda is to convert people of other faiths using the vast resources of funds available to them from affluent western countries, have been carrying on a campaign in the last decade or more, resorting to every possible means to discredit the host nation’s religious and cultural traditions, which are clearly unethical, giving rise to hostility and disharmony within the targeted communities. The Buddhists who number 70 percent of the population have been patient and tolerant of the hostile acts of this group numbering less than 1 percent, over a considerable period of time. Given below are some of the unethical means adopted by these Fundamentalist Christians who deem their religion to be the one true religion and hence superior to the other faiths followed by the local populace, which in their minds justifies all of their actions:

Offering monetary and other benefits to the poorer members of the society, and requiring them to smash statues of the Buddha or Hindu Gods they pay homage to, in order to receive their handouts, which are nothing but degrading acts and by no means acts of charity.

They have even asked the new converts who have been so coerced into the New Church to spit and urinate on the smithereens of the statues of the former religious teachers and gods whom they earlier worshipped.

Indoctrinating children as young as 3 to 5 years attending special Pre-School Centres established by the New Churches, to wean them away from the traditional Buddhist or Hindu culture and to only kneel before their god.

Paying men of straw to don the yellow robes of Buddhist monks and misconduct themselves in public places by violating the Monk’s Code of Discipline in order to discredit the Buddhist Clergy and cause the lay Buddhists to distance themselves from their temples.

Paying yet others to destroy Buddhist archaeological sites and rob Buddhist temples.

Carry on a smear campaign against leading Buddhist monks and lay leaders, and even use their enormous store of funds to issue death threats for the purpose of hampering the day to day activities and effectiveness of the targeted leaders.

We could go on adding to this list the various acts of the Fundamentalist Evangelical Christians who have disrupted the prevailing religious harmony in Sri Lanka. We understand that their activities in other countries such as India, Pakistan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia, etc. have caused similar disruptions in civic relations. It is indeed a pity that western governments including the Unites States of America are granting funds to these well funded faith based Non Government Organizations such as World Vision and other Evangelical Groups to undertake community projects in the developing countries, knowing only too well that the main agenda of these groups are to seek converts to their faith by denigrating other religions, which is tantamount to funding a pattern of Cultural Imperialism. When the Evangelical visitors behave and act insensitively to the culture of the host country which in Sri Lanka’s case has peacefully evolved over a period of 2500 years, it is a difficult task to maintain a tolerant and welcoming attitude towards these disruptive elements.

(Contd./3) - 3 -

Quite understandably, the Buddhist monks and the lay community have strongly protested against this invasion by the Fundamentalist Christians, and even demanded the introduction of laws against unethical conversions, as already adopted by some states in India. Contrary to what the TCHR states, the Tamil Hindus have joined hands with the Sinhala Buddhists to jointly seek legislative safeguards to protect the freedom of thought, conscience and religion guaranteed by Article 10 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, to ensure that no one shall be subjected to coercion, allurement and accosting of persons for purposes of proselytising.

It is clear that the Tamil Centre for Human Rights is selective in their voice when they speak of human rights violations, as they have failed to protest the violations against their own people by the self proclaimed sole representative of the Tamil community, namely, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to which they owe allegiance. Other statistics mentioned about the destruction of 2076 Hindu Temples and 299 Christian Churches in the North of Sri Lanka by aerial bombing is yet another canard of the worst order, which they advance in order to malign the Government of Sri Lanka and the majority Sinhala community. Not one Hindu Temple has been destroyed by the Buddhists. In fact, many Buddhist Temples have shrines set apart for worship of Hindu Gods. The affected Hindu Temples and Christian Churches have not reported such vast destruction despite a long drawn out war, as no such damage took place except for a few isolated incidents resulting from Tamil terrorist activities and counter military operations. These places were strictly avoided as civilians were advised to seek shelter in their places of worship to be safe from harms way during periods of military action against the insurgent forces of the LTTE.

We call on you to review the situation fully and determine if the allegations made by the Tamil Centre for Human Rights are based on genuine concerns for human rights or with the mischievous intent of maligning the Sinhalese Buddhists of Sri Lanka, in their primary task of carrying on propaganda for the armed struggle of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) aimed at dismembering the island nation of Sri Lanka, to which cause they are directly affiliated.

Yours very truly,

Mahinda Gunasekera

President, Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada

For World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka (WAPS)

Signed:

President - Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights of Sri Lanka (SPUR) Victoria

President - Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights of Sri Lanka (SPUR) NSW

President - Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights of Sri Lanka (WASPUR) WA

President - Sri Lankans Against Terrorism- NSW

President - Veera Prakaramabahu Foundation- NSW

President - Sinhala Cultural and Community Services F. Vic

President - Apey Shakthi- New Zealand

President - Canadian Association for United Sri Lanka-Canada

President - Sri Lankan United National Association-Canada

President - Sinhala Centre- U.K

President - The International Campaign for the Liberation of the Sinhala Nation- U.K

President - Sinhala Association of Sri Lankans in the U.K

President - New York Society of United Sri Lankans-U.S.A

President - United Sinhalese Association in Italy- Rome.

President - Pacific Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka, Vic (National Office), Australia

President - Alliance Against Tamil Domination, UK