{"id":91027,"date":"2019-07-03T16:47:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T23:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=91027"},"modified":"2019-07-03T16:49:12","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T23:49:12","slug":"easter-sunday-bomb-blast-in-sri-lanka-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/07\/03\/easter-sunday-bomb-blast-in-sri-lanka-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"EASTER SUNDAY BOMB BLAST IN SRI LANKA Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Easter Sunday\nbombings mark a significant coming together of the Catholic Church and the Maha\nsangha. The Catholic Church and the Maha sangha appeared   together on one platform, after the Easter\nSunday bombings. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith held two joint press conferences with\nthe Maha sangha regarding the bomb blasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 After the Easter Sunday bombings, Cardinal\nMalcolm Ranjith held a joint press conference      with Ven. Omalpe Sobitha    at the Bishop\u2019s House on 9.5.19.  The main speaker was Cardinal Malcolm\nRanjith.  He said firmly that   the Easter Sunday bombings were part of an\ninternational conspiracy. It was not a local thing. USA was behind it.  The Cardinal stated publicly on that this was\npart of a \u2018Bhayanaka loka salasmak\u2019 of the USA. USA alone is behind this and\nISIS is part of the USA plan. USA has meddled in other countries, such as Libya\nand now they want to do the same here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second media briefing\ntook place after the Anti Muslim riots which broke out on May 13, 2019, in Sri Lanka,\ntargeting mosques and Muslim-owned shops. It was jointly called by the Catholic\nChurch and the Buddhist clergy at the Bishop\u2019s House, Borella on   14.5.19.  The   Maha sangha was represented by Ven. Ittapane\nDhammalankara, Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayawardanepura, and chief\npriest of Kotte Sri Kalayani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha of Siyam Maha\nNikaya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven Dhammalankara\nsaid it is evident that there is a hidden hand which is manipulating and\ninstigating the mobs engaged in causing damage. Within a few days since the\nunfortunate incident on Easter Sunday we addressed the people and pleaded of\nthem to stay calm. The people obliged. They were silent, resilient and patient,\nsaid Ven. Dhammalankara. But, now 20 days\nlater, incidents of violence being reported from various parts of the country\nbased on the Easter Sunday incident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain parties\nare inciting racial tensions and unleashing these mobs. These violent gangs are\nbeing manipulated by organized political forces for their political gain. . Some\nsinister force is behind these incidents. These sinister forces are instigating\nthese groups and sending them to cause this damage,\u201d he said, adding that these\nincidents need to be investigated and those behind these incidents should be\nexposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said that it\nwould have been better if the government had methodically conducted cordon and\nsearch operations covering all areas in Negombo. Instead, searches were\nconducted in an ad hoc manner thereby allowing troublemakers to retain various\ndangerous items. He called for thorough searches of houses occupied by Muslims\nand Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cardinal reiterated his long standing call\nto proscribe the use of religion or ethnicity as part of the name of political\nparties. The Catholic leader revealed how he had turned down a request by group\nof powerful Catholics to form a Catholic political party. The Cardinal said\nthat attempts to exploit religion should be blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera had in the meantime\ndeclared that Sri Lanka wasn\u2019t a Sinhala Buddhist country, both Ven\nDhammalankara and Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith took this opportunity to state that\nit could not be disputed that Sri Lanka was a Buddhist country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maha sangha\nspoke out on its own, as well, after the bomb explosions occurred. From their\ncomments made to the media, it was clear that the Maha sangha   had known about Muslim extremism. They have\nknown this for a long time and they were well informed. They spoke of madrasas,   Sharia University, date palms and the use of\nArabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Catholic Church also continued to speak\nout. Deliberate attempts were being made by influential interested parties to\ndivert public attention away from the Easter Sunday carnage, the worst ever\nsingle act of terrorism in Sri Lanka directed at civilians, said a senior\nspokesperson for the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well organized attacks on the Muslim community\nin the North Western Province and Minuwangoda in the Gampaha District were\nintegral part of their despicable strategy. There hadn\u2019t been a single incident\nwhen well over 200 victims were buried in several parts of the country. Many\nfeared the possibility of communal clashes in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo\nwhere the most funerals took place, the priest said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appreciating the prompt support extended by\nthe Buddhist clergy to Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith to reassure the Catholics, the\nChurch spokesperson emphasized that premeditated violence directed at Muslims\nliving in Wayamba and Minuwangoda were meant to destabilize the country.  Influential interested parties had taken this\naction, as the Easter Sunday carnage failed to trigger violent response from\nthose directly affected, the priest said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attacks on Muslims not only diverted the\npublic attention from bomb attacks but drew international condemnation of Sri\nLanka, the priest said. The UN censured Sri Lanka over the situation caused by\nthe government\u2019s pathetic failure to thwart organized attacks. The priest\nalleged that there hadn\u2019t been contingency plans in place to counter the threat\nposed by those seeking to take advantage of the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The UN\nstatement dated May 14 attributed to Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the\nPrevention of Genocide, and Karen Smith, UN Special Adviser on the Responsibility\nto Protect, placed Sri Lanka an extremely difficult and embarrassing situation,\nthe spokesperson continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Church official said instead of tackling\nthe threat posed by extremists behind the Easter Sunday bombings those in\nauthority were busy creating fresh issues.  He pointed out that the government and police\nhadn\u2019t explained as to how such large groups freely raided many towns in the\nWayamba Province and Minuwangoda without hindrance. “We haven\u2019t heard of\neven one instance of the police or the armed forces firing in the air in a bid\nto control   the organized mobs,”\nthe spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  \nEaster bomb attack also came up for discussion at the Bishops Conference\nheld at the Archbishop\u2019s House in May 2019. The special invitee for the event\nwas Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speakers were strongly critical of\nboth President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 More\nthan one speaker said that they should work towards the establishment of a new\ngovernment since the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe duo have let down the Catholic\ncommunity.  A Muslim minister from the Mannar District,\nwho even operates a Tamil language television station, came in for severe\ncriticism for the alleged support he had extended to IS extremists.   no action has still been taken against\nhim. One speaker noted that a winning political party could work with\nmoderate and responsible Muslim politicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Easter\nSunday bombings took place, the sangha decided to send the Muslims, as well as Yahapalana\nand the USA a strong message. 50 bhikkus went by bus to Katuwapitiya church, and\nwere met by the chief priest of the Church. They exchanged greetings, went into\nthe church and surveyed the damage done. Then in a symbolic gesture of sympathy,\nseveral bhikkus took brooms and swept the compound. This is a most unusual\nevent and it must be recognized as such. Derana television gave it   lengthy coverage. This can be seen at   https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ip7WwvJJL9w&t=1707s<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gangaramaya Temple and the Kalutara Bodhi\nTrust,   decided to support the poorest\nvictims of the Easter Sunday bombings. Rs. 5 million donated by the World Peace\nAssociation was handed over to the Venerable Kirinde Assaji of\nGangaramaya.  Kalutara Bodhi Trust and\nthe Gangaramaya Temple (Buddha Rashmi Fund) said they would also provide funds\nfor distribution.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Catholic Church reciprocated. The Catholic\nchurch usually stays away from Wesak, apart from once in a while, blundering by\nwishing the Buddhist a \u2018joyful Wesak\u2019. This Wesak, In recognition of the support shown by the\nMaha Sangha, one particular Catholic church, (I could not take down the name),\ndisplayed   on the grounds of the church,\na row of atapattan kudu, with a cross on each of the four sides.     The display was within the church premises.\nThis was a rare event and it was shown on Derana news of 18.5.2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another \u2018Wesak\nkudu with cross\u2019 venture was not so fortunate. About 50 Vesak lanterns,\ncarrying the symbols of the \u2018Dhamma chakra\u2019 and the \u2018Christian cross\u2019 on the\nfour sides of each lantern, had created a furore in Saliyawewa. .Saliyawewa\nPolice told the organizers to remove the Vesak lanterns, following a complaint\nby a monk. The monk had pointed out that the Dharmachakra symbol should not appear\non a Wesak kudu. It was a symbol of great significance. I wish to add that the\ncross should not have been there either. The cross is a sacred symbol of\nChristianity and, as far as I know, it is never used for decoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lanterns\nwere made by the Sinhalese and Christians in the area together with their\nchildren in memory of all those who died in the Easter Sunday attacks. It was\nan initiative by a Pradeshiya Sabha member, complained the Christians. They\nwere made by a team of Buddhist and Catholic youth that had good intentions. It was to be\na collective symbol delivering the message of peace with each other,\nparticularly in difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bhikku\nwho objected had failed to see the calm and the serenity that the sight of\nthose lighted \u2018Vesak kudus\u2019 with the Cross and the Dharmachakraya on them would\nhave brought to the people of those two and even other faiths, while watching\nthem, lamented  one reader, probably\nChristian, in a letter to the newspapers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in June\n2019, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith visited Ven. Ratana who was on his fourth day of\nhunger strike opposite the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. Ven. Ratana was\ndemanding the removal of Eastern Province Governor M. L. A. M. Hisbullah,\nWestern Province Governor Azath Sally and Commerce and Industry Minister\nRishard Bathiudeen. The Cardinal was accompanied by several other Catholic\npriests who also spoke to Ven. Ratana. This was shown on television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\ninquiring about Ratana Thera\u2019s health and wellbeing, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\nspoke to the media. he said Ratana thera commenced this fast for the people\nwho were killed and injured during the Easter Sunday attacks. He had commenced\nthis fast having found out the true information regarding this incident. We\nhave yet not been told who was behind these attacks and who supported and\nassisted in these attacks, Rev. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith told the media after\nmeeting Ratana Thera.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No proper\ninvestigation has been done so far and I feel that a comprehensive\ninvestigation must be done to reveal those who had assisted in these\nterrorists. Authorities are simply chasing behind a handful of officials such\nas the IGP and Defence Secretary. However, they have so far not investigated\nwho had indirectly assisted these terror elements, said the Cardinal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cordial\nrelations between Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and the Maha sangha, displayed   during this time,   does not come as a surprise. This has been\nincubating for a long time. When Cardinal \nMalcolm Ranjit was  installed as\nthe as the 9th Archbishop of Colombo, at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena, in\n2009, the Maha Sangha were   present,\npresumably by invitation. The newspapers ran on the front page, a photograph of\nVen Maduluwawe Sobitha, Bellanwila Wimalaratana and a third high ranking bhikku,\nwhose name I cannot now recall, surrounding a smiling Archbishop and greeting\nhim enthusiastically, after his ordination. \nI thought it a lovely, promising photograph, cut it out and put it away\nsafely. Now I cannot find it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Yahapalana government came in, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\nshowed interest n working with the Buddhists. Cardinal\nMalcolm Ranjith has not forsaken his religion. \nHe sees the potential of Buddhism, the majority religion in the country,\nto act as a stabilizing force in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sept\n2018  Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was\npresent at the prize giving of Kanduboda Shri Saranankara Daham Pasala in\nDelgoda, organized by the Ven. Parakaduwe Sri Saranankara with Chancellor of\nthe Kelaniya University Ven. Dr. Walamitiyawe Kusaladhamma  presiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\nsaid at this event that Buddhism was the backbone of this country and\nit was a religion which had been followed by the people in this land for a long\ntime. People who had been shaped by\nBuddhist civilization do not violate human rights. He added that a society\nwhich attempts to make human rights a religion, could safeguard human rights\neffectively through Buddhist teaching. Rights\nof all people in this country are safeguarded when Buddhist culture is\nsafeguarded. Anti-religious ideologies are being filtered into the society\ntoday. We have to put them aside and safeguard religions,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Since we have inherited a\ngreat culture over the years, there is no need to think about human rights in a\nspecial way. Human rights are safeguarded in our country much more than what is\nprescribed by the UN because of the Buddhist environment,\u201d he added. He also said the efforts made by the\nBuddhist clergy to bring up children according to Buddhist principals were\ncommendable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal\nRanjith attending the launching ceremony of the biography of Ven. Banagala\nUpatissa on 7.1.19.  At this even he said\nthat spiritual guidance can be found in the scriptures of different religions\npracticed by the people of this country. that guidance is especially included\nin Buddhist philosophy. (Ceylon today\n7.1.2019.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vesak in May\n2019   was badly affected by the bomb\nblasts. Wesak could not be the jolly entertainment it usually was, with\npandals, dansalas,   hundreds of viewers\non the streets, enjoying themselves. Yahapalana government asked temples\ncountrywide not to organize large-scale Vesak celebrations because of the\nsecurity situation. Vesak\npandals, Vesak decorations and celebrations must be confined to temple premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buddhist\ntook this as an opportunity to show loyalty to Buddhism. Buddhists\nmade a special effort this time to take the family and go to temple. My\nhousekeeper, who usually never goes home for Wesak, wanted leave to go home.\nShe said that the priest in the temple has wanted them all to be present at a\npahan puja in the temple and she wished to participate. Trishaws in\ntowns, proudly carried Buddhist flags.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 An unprecedented number of Buddhists took sil.\nDerana news of 18.5.2019 showed rows of Buddhist observing sil at Ruvanvelisaya\nin Anuradhapura.   Over 245,000 Buddhist\ndevotees in Kurunegala observed sil in May 18 and 19th<\/sup>, said the\nmedia. Meditation\nprogrammes and sermons were conducted island wide, with the participation of\nover 2,800 bhikkus, the media added. Buddhist said this was the correct way to\ncelebrate Wesak and the style should continue. The unexpected also happened.\nDerana news of 18.5.2019 also showed a bhikku giving a sermon in a mosque. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since pandals were banned,   the Buddhists decided to decorate the streets\ninstead. Shops reported a huge sale in Buddhist flags.    Streets were decked with Buddhist flags, in\nan abundance I have never seen before. \nThe streets were strung across in rows and rows of Buddhist flags. In\naddition to the standard flags, there was also the \u2018palan kodi\u2019, extending\nacross the road and along the sides of buildings. The lamp posts had \u2018kanu kodi.\u2019\nEach had its colored stripes arranged accordingly. The emphasis was on the   colors not the size. In one street, instead\nof flags, there were strips of crepe paper in the \u2018Buddhist colors\u2019 strung\nacross the main road.  I\nthink they must have run out of flags.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houses flew the Buddhist flag, I think more\nthan usual. These flags came in many sizes, from tiny to large. .Some houses\nhad large flags, flying boldly, on poles prominently jutting out on the street.\nIn one house, in Colombo, the \u2018flag\u2019 was laid over the whole of the boundary wall,\nfacing the road at Ward Place. The colors were printed in long horizontals. On\nthe southern highway, there was a Buddhist flag atop a factory chimney. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Easter\nSunday bombings, a sad event, had resulted in the strengthening of Buddhist\nresolve and the recognition of Buddhism as the leading religion of the island.  The Easter Sunday bombings have, also quite\nunexpectedly,   helped to establish Sri\nLanka as a Sinhala Buddhist country. Mangala Samaraweera said on 13 May 2019 that\nSri Lanka was not a Sinhala Buddhist country.  \nOf course it is a Sinhala Buddhist country said the Sinhala\nBuddhists.  Yes it is, added the Hindus,\nChristians and Muslims independent of each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm\nRanjith said it could not be disputed that Sri Lanka was a Buddhist country. Sri\nLanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country said Faizer Mustapha. Vadivel Suresh said\nthe same thing.  So did Minister Mano Ganesan.\nThey also announced, with appreciation, that is was the Buddhist ethos that\npermitted them to practice their religion with complete freedom. (Derana news\n17.5.19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faizer Mustapha\nsaid it was the Buddhist ethos that permitted the other religions to   follow their religions peacefully and\nexercise their rights. Navinda Jayasinghe speaking for Catholics said this is\nSinhala Buddhist country, there is nothing to argue about it. Its identity is\nSinhala Buddhism. Vadivel Suresh said there are no two words about It.\nBuddhism  is the senior  religion under which come the junior religions\n of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity!!\n(continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Easter Sunday bombings mark a significant coming together of the Catholic Church and the Maha sangha. The Catholic Church and the Maha sangha appeared   together on one platform, after the Easter Sunday bombings. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith held two joint press conferences with the Maha sangha regarding the bomb blasts.  After the Easter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91027","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=91027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}