{"id":111679,"date":"2021-02-14T16:19:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T23:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=111679"},"modified":"2021-02-14T16:19:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-14T23:19:08","slug":"permitting-religious-cults-is-dangerous-prof-gunaratna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/02\/14\/permitting-religious-cults-is-dangerous-prof-gunaratna\/","title":{"rendered":"Permitting religious cults is dangerous – Prof. Gunaratna"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nadira Gunatilleke<\/a> Courtesy Sunday Observer<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

14 February, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Government should\nnot permit religious functionaries to cross over to the political space, said\nDr. Rohan Gunaratna, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer. Dr\nGunaratna is an Honorary Professor at the Sir John Kotalawala Defence\nUniversity and Senior Advisor to its Department of Defence and Strategic\nStudies. Here he speaks about some current issues in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: `Born Again\u2019 is a\nhot topic in Sri Lanka these days. Would you comment on it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A:<\/strong> All religions\nare being used and misused by interested parties to spread their ideologies\naggressively. The Government should create a Presidential Council of religious\nharmony to manage the religious challenges transforming into security threats.\nThe Born Again Movement in Sri Lanka is not an exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All faiths are\nmanipulated. No faith is immune. We have recently witnessed first-hand how\nSalafism, especially its Saudi version Wahhabism, was exploited by Zahran to\nattack Christians. During the P2P rally Hindu and Christian groups were\nexploited – the P2P protesters ended up worshipping suicide terrorists and\nterrorists in Jaffna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious space is\nsacred. It should be treasured and protected by religious leaders. If religious\nleaders cannot control their faith communities, the Government should step in\nand act decisively. The Government should not permit religious functionaries to\ncross over to the political space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thai Constitution\nforbids bhikkhus participating in politics. Thai authorities disrobe and punish\nbhikkhus who cross the red line. The Hindu nationalist organisation, Rashtriya\nSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member Ramachandra Vinayak Godse assassinated Mahatma\nGandhi. To the detriment of the Hindus and Sri Lanka, the RSS has established a\npresence in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exploitation of\nreligion and ethnicity by politicians and other interested parties, both\ndomestic and foreign, should be firmly dealt with. Religious freedom should\ncome with responsibility – no religion should encroach in the space of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka can never\nmove from a third world to a first world country unless the Government and\ncommunity leaders develop legislation to regulate the religious and ethnic\nspace. Ethnic and religious harmony is paramount for social and political\nstability and economic prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Born Again\nMovement is a cult group that has deviated from mainstream Christianity.\nSimilar to Salafism and its Wahhabi strain criticised by the local and\ntraditional Muslims, the Born Again Movement is criticised by the mainstream\nChristians who coexist with other communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Yahapalana regime\ndid not control the spread of the Born Again Movement, the cult is gathering\nmomentum. A few hundred people are gathering around this faith group in Sri\nLanka after a handful of Sri Lankan singers and cricketers participated in Born\nAgain practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government in\ncooperation with the mainstream Christian leaders should stop the conversion of\nBuddhists and Hindus. The cult provides benefits to the converts while non\nconverts are treated differently. With their healing sessions used as a\ntechnique to reach out to other faith communities, the cult is perceived as a\nthreat by other faith communities in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wearing Western attire\nand speaking fluent English, the preachers attract a cross section of society\nto the cult. Such practices lead to misunderstanding and disharmony. In a\ncountry where other religions coexisted peacefully until the 2000s, the Born\nAgain Movement should be monitored and regulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a psychological\nperspective, these practices and behaviours explain man’s obsession with god(s)\nfrom the beginning of civilisation where he needed help, meaning and answers to\nthe unknowns around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cult members\nperceive that the challenges of their personal and professional lives can be\naddressed by joining these faith groups. When help is not within sight, they\nsimply put the problem in God’s hands and then they think they are free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members self\nisolate themselves. Despite being criticised and sidelined by the larger\ncommunity, the cult members meet the solace, company and sense of acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their belief in God\nmakes the adherents feel that God is on their side, and that they are accepted\nby God. A segment of the spectators with similar unaddressed grievances who\nobserve this process start to follow the cult. They validate the cult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The danger of\npermitting religious cults to operate has been evident in many instances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Jonestown incident\n1978 where 918 people died due to the instruction of cult leader Jim Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A Buddhist and\nHindu cult Aum Shinrikyo led by Shoko Asahara used sarin to kill people in\nTokyo in 1995. He was executed by Japan on July 6, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Zahran, these\ncult leaders were charming, charismatic and capable of fluent speech and\nassertive communication. The leader appeared in symbolic dress, beard, mannerism\nand gestures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They surrounded\nthemselves with wealthy followers who funded and protected them. The personal\nor occupational lives of the followers were in turmoil. Despite negative\npublicity, they continued to attract vulnerable segments of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To attract and\nconvince followers they demonstrated extraordinary skills and performances such\nas magic shows, especially, healing the blind, deaf, dumb and curing the\npossessed people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How do you\ninterpret the latest behaviour of certain Tamil politicians displayed during\nSri Lanka\u2019s 73rd Independence celebration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A:<\/strong> To disrupt Sri\nLanka\u2019s 73rd Independence Day celebration, a handful of Tamil activists and\npoliticians organised a protest march from Ampara to Jaffna from February 3 to\n6, 2021. The face of the march was the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that had\nsuffered electoral defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To revive, the TNA\nhighlighted among others, investigations into disappearances and called for the\nrelease of imprisoned LTTE terrorists. To enlist Muslim support, the TNA also\nraised the burial issue and to enlist plantation workers\u2019 support, they\ndemanded for them a Rs. 1,000 salary increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the\nMuslims as \u2018Tamil speaking people\u2019, MA Sumanthiran of the TNA attempted to woo\nthe Muslims. Except Ameer Ali in Batticaloa and Imran Maharoof in Trincomalee,\nMuslims in general kept away from the TNA, considered a proxy of the LTTE. The\nLTTE ethnically cleansed 72,000 Muslims from the north and staged repeated\nmassacres of Muslim villages in the east. The Muslims\u2019 memories of LTTE\nbrutalities persisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commonly known as P2P,\nthe march originated in Poththuvil (P) and ended in Polika\u2019ndi (P). After the\nprotesters left the east, the march was heavily infiltrated by LTTE supporters\nand sympathisers. A hundred red and yellow flags without the Tiger emblem was\nparaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rally ended with\nprotesters saluting Millar, the first LTTE suicide terrorist and Thileepan, an\nLTTE leader. In parallel, the LTTE international network staged their P2P march\nin the UK on February 7, 2021. The march was disrupted when the British police\nstopped the LTTE motorcade in Harrow, Middlesex and noted their vehicle numbers\nfor investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were attempts to\nstage P2P marches in Canada, Switzerland, and Australia where LTTE flags were flown,\ncutouts of Velupillai Prabhakaran paraded, decorated lamps were lit, LTTE\nslogans sung and other LTTE memorabilia displayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police investigations\nrevealed that the LTTE headquarters group and other LTTE entities partly funded\nthe protest. The P2P protests witnessed Tamil children carrying LTTE flags\nincluding the son of Pulavar alias Thumpan, the deputy leader of the LTTE\nheadquarters group in the UK. An arms trafficker from North Korea, Pulavar was\nbased in Indonesia moving weapons to Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most LTTE\nfunctionaries that engaged in terrorist support activity, Pulavar masquerades\nas a human rights activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to foreign\nintelligence, the headquarters group led by Anthony Cruz alias Sangeethan alias\nDayabaran has been funding LTTE attacks in Sri Lanka. Cruz, a functionary of\nthe LTTE national intelligence under Pottu Amman 1990 to 2009 was based in\nIndia from 1998-2003. With the end of Sri Lanka\u2019s battle against terrorism in\n2009, Cruz travelled to the UK through India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the HQ\ngroup, known as World Tamil Historical Society, the P2P has been funded by the\nTamil Coordinating Committee, another LTTE front led by Nediyawan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Does Sri Lanka\nreally need the 13th Amendment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: <\/strong>The 13th Amendment to\nthe Constitution of Sri Lanka (13A) created Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka.\nThe Councils were created after July 29 1987, when the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord\nwas signed between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R.\nJayewardene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The background to the\nAccord was India providing sanctuary, financing, arming, training, and\ndirecting the LTTE. With India compelling Sri Lanka to sign the Accord, the\ngovernment faced an insurrection in the south. The unhappiness was reflected\nwhen a naval rating hit Rajiv Gandhi nearly assassinating him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LTTE assassinated\nGandhi after returning to violence having reneged on the Agreement. The reality\nin Sri Lanka is that any Government devolving powers to the North and East will\nbe toppled. The historical experience is that devolution of power to the\nprovinces will be exploited by the separatists to secede.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamil politicians both\nTNA and others are not trusted. They are either associated with the LTTE\ninternational network or with India. In February 2016, the Chief Minister of\nSri Lanka’s Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran sought India’s direct\nintervention in the complete implementation of the Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having suffered from\nIndian covert assistance to the LTTE and five other terrorist groups, Sri\nLankans detested Indian intervention. Although India is unlikely to rearm the\nLTTE, Sri Lankans are suspicious of Indian designs especially, in the north and\nthe east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasingly, an\nopinion is building in Sri Lanka to abrogate the 13th Amendment along the lines\nof India revoking the special status, or limited autonomy, granted under\nArticle 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir\u2014a region\nadministered by India as a state which consists of the larger part of Kashmir\nand which has been the subject of dispute among India, Pakistan, and China\nsince 1947.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 5, 2019, the\nGovernment of India, cut off communication lines in the Kashmir Valley, a\nregion gripped by a prolonged separatist terrorism and insurgency. Kashmiri\npoliticians were taken into custody, including the former chief minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government is\naware of the LTTE planning to harness the political freedoms in the north and\nthe east and subvert the Tamil community. If there is a revival of the LTTE,\nthe Sri Lankan Government will not hesitate to move in this direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current strategy\nby the separatists is to masquerade as human rights activists and provoke\nGovernment overreaction. As such, the Government did not respond decisively to\nthe P2P protest. However, having witnessed the detrimental impact of the\nprotest, the Government will no longer permit a similar episode as it\ncompromises the hard won stability and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government is also\naware of the LTTE working both on the political and terrorist fronts. In\naddition to plotting intermittent attacks, the LTTE network overseas is\nbuilding a support infrastructure in the north and the east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the military\ndefeat of the LTTE in May 2009, Sri Lankans are unwilling to devolve land,\npolice and financial powers to the provinces. The structure implemented in the\nNorth and the East should be acceptable to all parts of the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nadira Gunatilleke Courtesy Sunday Observer 14 February, 2021 The Government should not permit religious functionaries to cross over to the political space, said Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer. Dr Gunaratna is an Honorary Professor at the Sir John Kotalawala Defence University and Senior Advisor to its Department of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}