Stop Blaming The Victims
By Ameer M Faaiz -July 5, 2014
Ameer M. Faaiz
In the weeks that have passed since 6-15 (15
th June) when Sri Lanka witnessed one of the worst outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence, the official narrative has been as chilling as the events.
The government initially dismissed the violence that has so far claimed at least four lives directly, displaced over 370 families and damaged property worth about Rs. 5.8 billion[1] as a “minor incident”.
Blaming the Victims
The Sri Lanka Government’s first formal statement on the events was delivered at the 26th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, four days after the riots. In a shocking omission of facts, the statement makes no reference to the pre-planned rally held that day in Aluthgama where prominent members of theBodu Bala Sena (BBS) addressed a gathering of over 7,000 people, declaring the end of all those who laid a finger on a Sinhalese.[2] Instead the government statement narrated two other incidents, both of which positioned Buddhist monks as victims and Muslims as culprits. The first was an alleged assault on a Buddhist monk by three Muslim youth. The second, described as the ‘incident that led to the violence’ alleged the stoning of monks and other individuals as they were ‘passing a Mosque in Dharga Town’.
The official stance currently formulated is that nebulous and unnamed Muslim extremists are to blame. Following widespread condemnation of the violence, both at home and internationally, Buddhist extremist groups and political parties represented in the ruling alliance were quick to shift the blame to unseen Muslim extremists.
