{"id":91340,"date":"2019-07-12T17:20:11","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T00:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=91340"},"modified":"2019-07-12T17:20:11","modified_gmt":"2019-07-13T00:20:11","slug":"response-to-the-washington-post-article-of-monday-july-8-2019-titled-in-sri-lanka-muslims-increasingly-under-siege-by-joanna-slater-and-hafeel-farisz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/07\/12\/response-to-the-washington-post-article-of-monday-july-8-2019-titled-in-sri-lanka-muslims-increasingly-under-siege-by-joanna-slater-and-hafeel-farisz\/","title":{"rendered":"Response to the Washington Post article of Monday July 8, 2019, titled \u201cIn Sri Lanka, Muslims increasingly under siege\u201d by Joanna Slater and Hafeel Farisz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anjalika Silva Sri Lankan American Community member<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/after-easter-sunday-attacks-muslims-face-boycotts-and-violence-in-sri-lanka\/2019\/07\/06\/3e4a405a-91f6-11e9-956a-88c291ab5c38_story.html?utm_term=.8745a1f0c4f4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above article that\nappeared in the Washington Post on Monday July 8, 2019 singles out the\noccurrence of reaction by the citizens of Sri Lanka against the recent\nextremist Islamic violence portrayed as Muslims being under siege with\ninsinuations of unfair treatment of Muslims as a rule.  The recent coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka\nin 6 places within minutes of each other killing close to 300 men women and\nchildren in churches and luxury hotels in one clean sweep of coordinated\nattacks is not something to keep a country complacent.  In addition, over 500 are injured with life altering\ninjuries. This kind of carnage is not anything new in the vision of the world that\nhas witnessed Islamic extremism fast spreading to obliterate the traditional\npractices of Islam throughout the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Sri Lanka\nisolated from other countries that are facing similar issues?  Why is Sri Lanka singled out for trying to\nprotect its people and all traditional religions?  Why are only the Buddhists blamed for\nreacting when the Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and moderate Muslims face the\nsame danger of extremist brutality?  It\nis not a perfect world to not have some reaction to such high numbers of\ncasualties.  To direct the reaction as\nfaith-based attacks implying that it came from a Buddhist Nationalist group is a\ndeliberate attempt at the confirmed Buddhist bashing that has become a theme of\nthe international media.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does one assume\nthat any of the attackers to be solely Buddhists?  The Easter attacks were directed at the\nCatholic churches.  Why are Buddhists\nblamed without proof? The entire country is angry, grieving and living in\nfear.  It is not only Muslims but all\nthose who don\u2019t conform to the radical Islam of the Saudi supported Wahabi form\nthat is rammed down people are in danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions\nmust be answered by the Washington Post reporter who has not understood the\nroot of the problem or fails to do so blatantly ignoring the recent violence\nagainst one of their own \u2013 Jamal Khashoggi a Saudi dissident. It is the\npossibility of the same violence that Sri Lankans fear because of the push to\nannihilate all religions with only two choices. \nOne, to convert to extreme Islam and live, or refuse and die by\nbeheading or any other means. This is the Saudi sponsored Wahabism that is\ncausing a problem to moderate Muslims also in Sri Lanka.  If they are concerned for their safety, how\nmuch more should non-muslims fear for their lives?  This applies to all people in the cross wires\nof a fanatical drive to push their flavor of Islam throughout the globe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article is more\nsympathetic to the material loss of business and buildings over the loss of\nlife deliberately destroyed.  Regardless\nof the faith, this is completely wrong and yet it continues globally with\ncountries more powerful than Sri Lanka bracing for attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is a fall\nout from this event against all muslims, it is to be expected because the\nmoderate muslims are as much victims of this tragedy.   They\ncannot denounce the extremists to suffer threats to their lives to a far\ngreater extent than illustrated in the article that pinpoints to the majority\nrace the Sinhalese among whom are majority Buddhists, viewed and assumed as a\nthreat. Recognizing the right or real threat is the bottom line here. It is\nconvenient to ignore the root cause \u2013 the jihadist attacks and skip to those\nwho react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post\nneeds to be balanced in reporting sporadic incidents of the fate of material\nbusiness and understand fully the implications of the fate that awaits the\npeople of Sri Lanka with the risk to their life if nothing is done about it.  Patience of the people is fast running out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current\nsituation is that all citizens of the country across religious lines are coming\ntogether because they realize the gravity of the situation.  The lead to the group and one of the most\nvocal proponents of the need for action is Cardinal Malcom Ranjit the head of\nthe Catholic Church in Sri Lanka who has fearlessly come forward to join the\nBuddhist clergy with the common goal of saving all traditional believers from\nthe plans for widespread Jihad. Further plans for destruction have been\nrevealed following the swift action and investigations by the security forces\nin the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically Sri\nLanka that survived invasions by the Portuguese, Dutch and British have saved\nthe country with extreme sacrifice and action of the patriots that include the Buddhist\nclergy who have their own way of expressing their patriotism through which they\nhave protected all religious and ethnic groups in the history of the\ncountry.  That is a given and no reporter\nin the international media understands their role.  In the 30-year war too, there was mass\nslaughter of Buddhist monks by terrorists, slaughter of Muslims in prayer in\nthe very area that was home to the leader of the recent extremist bombing.\nThousands of dead from suicide bombs never had their day because terrorists are\nnon-state players who walk free with no accountability for human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not only\napplicable to Sri Lanka.  The US also will\ndo well to focus their attention to take note of how operations were carried out\nin places of religious worship, under cover with the abuse of religious freedom\nafforded to all groups in Sri Lanka.   No\none wants the brutal bloodshed and beheadings, suicide bombings to destroy one\nof the most beautiful, peaceful spiritual nations in the world that has seen\nBuddhists, Christians, Hindus and moderate Muslims living peacefully without\nthe radicalization that is going on today and brutal consequences in the name\nof religion.    Nor do they wish to have\nthe laws of the country substituted by Sharia Law that doesn\u2019t offer justice to\nits people.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the\nEaster Sunday attacks, vandalism at Buddhist Temples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading up to the\nbombing of the churches on Easter Sunday, over twenty Buddhist temples were\nvandalized and the individual leading those attacks was also the leader of the\npack of suicide bombers who were known but never apprehended until they caused\nall the damage. Valuable Buddhist statues at temples were mutilated and this\nwas also an organized attack as a prelude to bigger and more violent attacks on\nliving worshippers.  These actions\nreceived very little media attention and the government took extra precautions\nto protect a backlash against Muslims by keeping it away from national news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the\nWashington Post ignoring the global trend of Islamic extremism that has hit Sri\nLanka?  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article refers\nto boycott of Muslim businesses and sporadic attacks by angry mobs with an\nelement of sympathy using anecdotal incidents. The reporter may not have\nencountered or interviewed customers who decided to boycott some\nbusinesses.   There are those who\nexperienced the crudest treatment from eating houses that they decided to\nboycott.  Some non-Muslims have reported firsthand\nthat their food was contaminated with human excreta and as word got around,\nthose eating places were boycotted for obvious reasons.  It takes only one for reaction to all.  The actions of hate found their way to food\noutlets too.   Can one blame the\nboycotts?  Isn\u2019t it obvious?  These are anecdotal reports from individuals\nwho experienced firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stocks of\nBuddhist robes, white garments and military like uniforms, weapons, explosives\nfound buried in mosques<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reference in\nsome media reports to mob attacks attributed to Buddhist monks has a strange\nconnotation.  The discovery of huge\nquantities of Buddhist robes worn by monks buried in mosque premises deserves\nto be queried.  Most of the attackers\ncould not be identified by the chief incumbents of Buddhist temples because\nthey were imposters.  Another deliberate\nmove to discredit Buddhism.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an obvious\nexplanation for the discovery of a large quantity of white clothing found\nburied in mosques and other places to be used for disguise in mingling with\nBuddhist devotees for a planned attack at temples.  White attire is worn by Buddhists as simple\ngarb when they attend Buddhist festivals.  \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was recently\nrevealed that there were plans to destroy the most sacred Buddhist shrine, the\nTemple of the Tooth in the country that enshrines the relics of the\nBuddha.  Sri Lanka is a spiritually rich\ncountry with prayers in every faith and it will be protected from these\nfanatics to a greater extent than one can believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a\nstrange find of military like uniforms buried in the premises supposed to be\nfor religious worship.  According to the\nIndian Intelligence reports, there is a warning of an impending attack on India\nand Sri Lanka by Jihadists wearing military like attire.  This is yet to be proven, but if it does\nhappen, the Washington Post better be alert that the Indian authorities are\njust as concerned.  The discovery of mass\nscale catches of weapons and explosives obviously gives credibility to their\nfindings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not accurate\nthat a reputable newspaper in the capital of the world in Washington DC to\npresent a one-sided picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and imply that\nterrorists who are Islamic extremists who catalyzed the situation should not be\na reason for the victims to react. This should be challenged by moderate Muslims\ntoo.  Claiming faith-based attacks\naccusing a Buddhist Nationalist Group is preposterous when up to and until this\nevent on April 21, all religions in Sri Lanka had the freedom to practice their\nfaith and there was no forced murderous killing of individuals while in\nprayer.  The Buddhist Nationalists are\ncoming together through patriotism and they have no affiliation to any armed\ngroup outside Sri Lanka and it is an exaggeration to paint a picture that they\nwill take to arms.  They have no such\ncapability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Muslims are only\n9.3% of the population and they came to Sri Lanka as traders in 8 A.D., when\nBuddhism has existed in Sri Lanka since 250 BC. \nWith 70% of the Sinhalese people who make up about 72% of the population\nof 21.6 Million being followers of Buddhism, the rest of the Sinhalese majority\nare followers of Christianity.   The situation on the ground is one that has\nbrought together all segments of the population that feel threatened by\nextremism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article\nwritten without due consideration for the big picture is a pitiful illustration\nof a very dangerous situation. Some of the suicide bombers were well educated\nin western countries and from affluent families enjoying power in professions\nand business circles in addition to political roles.  It is the scenario we see in countries like\nFrance, UK and other places that have provided refuge to radicals who now\ndisturb their peace by making demands that are beyond reasonable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to\nexperts, this is clearly a push for new grounds for their caliphate with the\nfooting lost due to US bombings and the displacement of ISIS that is the\ninfluence behind the forceful conversion of an entire nation that has only two\nchoices, death or forced conversion to a radical form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not how Sri\nLanka and Sri Lankans want to live.  When\nthey protect their country, the interpretation of international media has taken\non a role of Buddhist bashing and it must be reminded that the Sinhalese\nBuddhists are fearless about guarding Sri Lanka as a world minority of only 17\nmillion in the entire world,  while\naccommodation all other ethnic and religious groups in their midst to exist\npeacefully.  In Sri Lanka, every\nreligious holiday for Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim followers are\nmandated government paid holidays.  Taking\naim at the majority as spreading faith-based attacks as the norm is baseless\nand inaccurate.  It is more accurate to\nindicate that there are undercurrents to eliminate all non-muslims from the\nentire country with no regard for human life. The Government of Sri Lanka has\ntaken measures to protect Muslims over and above the majority to prevent a\nbacklash. There is every possibility that this situation can be taken advantage\nof if it is not monitored diligently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently a Buddhist\nmonk and a Hindu priest went on a hunger strike because of this issue demanding\nthe removal of ultra-powerful Muslim cabinet members who were loyal to the perpetrators\nof this carnage. See the confession of a Jihadist who mentions them by\nname.  (The names have been removed for\nthe personal safety of this writer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the emergence\nof extremism, the hardliners who were radicalized became a force that was\nrecognized and feared mostly by the moderate Muslims in the country.  They made representations to the government about\nthe activities that were going on under cover because the danger to them was as\nbad as to other religions.  It is not a\nwonder that with the severity of the recent attacks, people of all religions\nand ethnicities including the moderate Muslims live in fear?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also a\ncommon issue considering the occurrences in bigger and more powerful nations\nfaced with the push from extreme Islam followers trying to rule in their host\ncountries with no go\u201d zones and a push for Sharia Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extract from a\nJihadist\u2019s confession below will be an eye opener.  Ironically his appeal was sent to the very\nBuddhist Nationalist Group referred to in this article.  This letter was his ultimate salvation from\nthe brainwashing that he underwent for nine years to turn him from being human\nto a barbarian trained to kill even his own people perceived as a threat to the\nreligion with no basis for verification. \nAll in the name of man-made religious beliefs.   This confession is a translation from\nreputable sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How a\nbrainwashed Jihadist confessed plans in detail to the Buddhist Nationalist\nGroup mentioned above <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter from a Jihadist\ngoing back to 2014 that was revealed in the light of recent attacks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a translation of a\nletter received by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organization (the Buddhist\nNationalist Group referred to in the article)  in Sri Lanka that was a much-maligned by the government\nas an organization for pointing out the secret activities of the radicals in\nthe country as confirmed by this Jihadist. \nThe Buddhist monk heading the organization was sent to jail for several\nyears.  He was released after April 21\nattacks came to fruition proving his findings to be true facts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BBS spokesperson who revealed this is a Buddhist\nmonk, in a video statement online. He has declared that this is not being\nrevealed to cause any harm, anger to resentment toward any segment of the\ncommunity to hurt their feelings or cause fear. This is revealed for the\nseriousness of the contents as revealed by the writer, a young radicalized Jihadist\nwho wants it to be known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original letter was written in Tamil and an\nauthentic translation was made with the help of a reporter of a leading Tamil\nnewspaper the Virakesari. The handwritten Tamil letter translated into Sinhala\nis in the hands of the BBS organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The English translation of the confession of the\nJihadist from the letter is as follows: (The words here are the words of the\nbrainwashed Jihadist)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask\nyou to read this letter from top to bottom more than once recommends the writer\nand he adds that every word in this letter is true.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nsays think about the contents.  I confirm\nthat every fact is true. (Words from the Jihadist that prefaced the actual\nconfession)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was born and raised in the Muslim environment and knew only about\nAllah\u201d and  as I grew up all I heard in\nmy life was about the harm done to Muslims by other believers and\nreligions.  My village had small mosques\nand in a close by town there was a larger mosque.  Some of the folks in my village had\nconnections with the larger mosque.  When\nI was about 15 years old, I got a chance to attend the larger mosque with some\nfolks who had connections to the larger mosque and I too got a chance.  Those who attended this mosque had\nrevolutionary ideas.  Their talk centered\naround how to deal with the other believers outside Islam. After a while I too\naccepted their ideas and believed that to protect our belief, we must destroy\nothers to save our religion.  The main\naim of discussion was the elimination of all other believers.  In order to do so we were prepared to commit\ngenocidal attacks on all others except muslims. We were ready to eliminate\neveryone except muslims and create an Islamic state.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We received special talks too.   \nOne day we had a visitor, from a foreign land at our mosque.  A discussion ensued.  He preached that we must be ready make the\nwhole world Muslim and that we must be ready to do anything to achieve that and\nconcentrate on Sri Lanka. This is what he said and invited us to join a special\norganization. We were impressed with the idea and agreed immediately.  We didn\u2019t know the name, or the organization\ndidn\u2019t have a name.  We were not sure\nwhether it was Jihad but later found out it was not Jihad and that it was the\nmother organization. Many people didn\u2019t know for sure the real organization\nstructure or name.  We were told that the\nname need not be known, and that Jihad was just a cover to mislead those who\nwere seeking to find out about us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t care if it didn\u2019t have a name.  They avoided naming the organization getting\nknown.  I got to know this after 7 years\nwith the organization.  Jihad name was to\nmislead because Jihad the known name was being watched while they operated with\na bigger mother organization that had spread throughout the world.  Most people didn\u2019t know this. I was proud to\nbe in this organization. Due to my contribution, after 9 years I was able to\nget a big position and at that time I was 26 years old.  I was empowered to kill anyone to spread\nIslam and establish a Muslim country in Sri Lanka. To establish Islamic state,\nI was ready to kill anyone, and we were trained well without being visible to\nthe outside world. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned to read and write the Sinhala language (language of\nthe majority ethnic group and majority of the Sinhalese people are Buddhist)\nand I looked like a Sinhalese in my appearance. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point the organization gave me something special.  That is, identification papers changing me to\na Sinhalese with a new name and all the necessary papers to disguise myself as\na Sinhalese. I was given a special assignment to go to the Sinhala community\nand learn as much as possible about them and I was able to travel to any part\nof the country.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point I was also informed that every office or\nestablishment throughout the country had people who were prepared like I was,\nand they were established in such places for many years.  Some of these folks were in this role for\naround 30 to 40 years and some were Sinhala people, but they were converted to\nbecome like us.  I was given a code word\nto identify similarly trained people.  I\nam going to reveal that code in this letter. \nWhen it becomes known the organization members will be disturbed.  That is what I want to make known.  The code word was madei\u201d which when softly\nspoken they reply to confirm they are in the movement.  This is the code word worldwide.  These people continue to operate in every\nsphere even today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way they infiltrated all the areas of work in the\ncountry.  Every government department,\nmilitary, air force, airports, banks, police, and all other places they have\ninfiltrated and are not known or visible from the outside. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Ports and airports were\nthe most important and we have got things done the way we want.  Due to political instability we had\nadvantages.  We also dealt with those who\ndidn\u2019t agree to what we wanted done. \nThese people who worked in ports were taken to the middle of the sea and\nmurdered for not agreeing to carry out what we wanted done. Then we spread the\nword that they went overseas.  Among us\nare Government politicians that include two (Muslim Ministers – Name 1 withheld,\nName 2 withheld but widely known in local media). These ministers in the\ngovernment are our biggest members. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 3 years ago they gave me a special assignment.  They made use of my appearance that looked\nlike a Sinhalese.  Sent me to a Buddhist\norganization and made a member.  I was\nasked to learn all the inside working of the Buddhist organization with my\nBuddhist Sinhala identification documents. \nI was not given details, but I realized that what I was expected to do\nwas a very serious act of genocide and mass destruction.  I was also brain washed with the desire to carry\nout such acts.  They asked me to study\nthe festivals and when and where their festivals were to be held and where\npeople were to gather. I was able to get a good insight into their activities\nand passed the information on.  I was\ntold to stay in the same place, and I was ready for the next step as they said\nthe next step will take place there. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was with the Sinhala people for 3 years in this\nenvironment.  This is when things started\nto change. My attitude started to change, and I realized that the Sinhala\npeople were more civilized than I had believed. \nBy then my commitment in the Islamic organization had gone far beyond a\npoint when I could turn around.  If I had\nchanged at this point, I would have been killed by the Islamic\norganization.  So, I stayed quiet and\ntime passed.  My organization did not\nnotice a change in me. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then two weeks or so before writing this letter, I was given the\nsecond stage of their plan.  This plan\nwas to be in Anuradhapura (An ancient historic capital of Buddhist heritage)\nwhere a big Buddhist festival offering of Jasmine flowers was to take place on\nJune 5th.  There were plans in place to\ncause a disturbance there.  I was not\nable to let this happen.  Therefore, I\nexposed this plan. To prevent this is for you to take over.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time, next month there was a plan to take over this\ncountry.  But due to incidents at\nAluthgama, (a place where there was unrest between Muslims and villagers) these\nplans were postponed as I have learned.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I told you we have our people in all institutions in this\ncountry and worldwide in every country. \nWith the help of our people there is a plan to disrupt all communication\nchannels and mess things up. Then a group was to come from overseas and bring the\nweapons and people, for us to take over this country by morning.  All this is the absolute truth.  In order to achieve this, we have hidden\nweapons in the country in preparation. \nIn every mosque we have 300 swords and in some there are weapons with\nammunition too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of the contents made public, but it is assumed there is\nmore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of 30\nyears of terrorism, winning peace in 2009 and the start of a new era of\nterrorism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When security\npersonnel carried out their investigations following the suicide bombings at\nEaster, they did connect remnants of terror suspects from the previous conflict\nwho have lent their services and provided remaining weapons to this group.  Terrorism is a mindset regardless of a\ncause.  The outcome of destruction is\ninhumane.  Another definite contributing\nfactor is that after 2009 and the peace that followed, security guidelines were\ndictated to by demands from UN and the US with pressure from certain sectors without\nregard for the ramifications to national security.   Following the attacks in April, some of the\nvery segments of the country that wanted the military checkpoints removed were\nbegging to have them reinstated.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future for Sri\nLanka is bleak and uncertain for reasons that are known globally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to experts,\nthis is clearly a push for new grounds for their caliphate with the footing\nlost due to US bombings and the displacement of ISIS that is the influence\nbehind the forceful conversion of an entire nation that has only two choices,\ndeath or forced conversion to a radical form. This is not how Sri Lanka and Sri\nLankans want to live.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s tolerance has been completely misconstrued. It must also be\npointed out that many skilled men and women from poor families seek employment\nin the middle eastern nations.  It is\ninteresting to make a study of the level of tolerance of other religions in\nthat region to the extent of not allowing any religious books or statues beyond\nthe airports in Muslim countries. \nHowever, the liberal freedom in Sri Lanka has clearly been abused and\nnow being pushed to be overrun by radicalism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As stated in the\narticle referring to Hardline Buddhist Nationalist groups that emerged, they\ntook a hard line because the tolerance and compassion, with patience as practiced\nin the Buddhist faith did not work as the revolution of hard line extremist\nIslam started to take over the country and the push to eliminate all religions\nbegan to be felt by all people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Media\ncontinues to subscribe to Buddhist bashing with stilted information when\nBuddhism is one of the most compassionate doctrines used even in the\nrehabilitation of prisoners in the United States.  It is not as fast growing as Islam because\nthe depth of the philosophy requires intellectual understanding and commitment\nto self-discipline which is a much-needed human quality today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unfortunate\nthat all of this stems from the distortion of Islam to a man-made version of a\nbrutal form that is more suited for those with sadistic instincts.  Moderate Muslims are caught in the middle\nwith no freedom of expression in their own communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suggest the\nreporter Joanna Slater of the Washington Post makes contact with people on the\nground in Sri Lanka on both sides of the issue and takes the opportunity for a\ndiscussion with the Sri Lankan American Community that lives in Washington to\nask pertinent questions and elicit answers about the truth.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sri Lankan\ncommunity will welcome your personal interaction for more accurate information\nthat reflects the ground situation. \nThere is an Embassy for the country in Washington DC, that will welcome\nyour participation to do so.  This is an\nopen call to all journalists who wish to be balanced in their material\nregarding Sri Lanka. The sources welcome you to do so.  Sri Lanka must be reported accurately because\nthroughout 30 years of war and even after peace, the international media has\nnever been fair about the positive aspects of the country.  This can only be turned around by journalists\nwho balance their information without bias from the right sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anjalika Silva<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan American\nCommunity member<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maryland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sent to\nJoanna.slater.@washingtonpost.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anjalika Silva Sri Lankan American Community member https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/after-easter-sunday-attacks-muslims-face-boycotts-and-violence-in-sri-lanka\/2019\/07\/06\/3e4a405a-91f6-11e9-956a-88c291ab5c38_story.html?utm_term=.8745a1f0c4f4 The above article that appeared in the Washington Post on Monday July 8, 2019 singles out the occurrence of reaction by the citizens of Sri Lanka against the recent extremist Islamic violence portrayed as Muslims being under siege with insinuations of unfair treatment of Muslims as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91340","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=91340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}