Protest outside Maharagama clothes store

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Tension mounted in the Maharagama town last evening when a group of protesters called for the closure of a popular clothes store in the area.

Ven. Amatha Damma Thera, a spokesman for the Budhu Hiru organisation, said he took part in the protest because two Buddhist monks had been summoned to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) following a complaint made by the shop’s management.

Heavy police presence outside the clothes store. Pic by Indika Handuwala

The shop management had lodged a complaint with the CCD after a group calling itself Budhu Hiru distributed leaflets inciting racial hatred and urging the people to boycott the store.

The shop management said that as a result of the hate campaign, they had suffered financial loss amounting to more than Rs. 5 million.

Maharagama police said they deployed more than 100 policemen to prevent any untoward incident.�The protesters, numbering more than 500 people, dispersed after a member of the management apologised for making a complaint to the CCD.

Police Spokesman Prashantha Jayakody said no group had the right to call for the removal of any shop or establishment.
Meanwhile Bodu Bala Sena in a statement said it was not involved in yesterday’s protest.

  Sri Lanka  Justice Minister(Muslim Congress (SLMC) 

Cartoon of the day

Hakeem calls for immediate halt to ‘hate campaign’ against Muslims

By Dasun Edirisinghe-January 20, 2013,

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) yesterday urged the government to take immediate action to stop the hate campaign, launched by some extremist elements in the country, against Muslims.

SLMC leader and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said that at a time the country was recovering following the conclusion of a protracted thirty-year war, it was distressing to note that the conflict between ethnic communities was showing signs of flaring up again, aided and abetted by certain groups trying to discredit the government and the Sri Lankan State.

He said, "I believe that this could also be part of a conspiracy to isolate Sri Lanka in the international arena. As intelligent citizens who love our motherland we must not pay heed to those promoting religious disharmony."

The minister, issuing a statement said that the Muslims sought a peaceful and immediate end to the hate campaigns. "Law and order must be enforced to nip it in the bud. The government is duty-bound to protect all communities equally, including the weak and the vulnerable," he said.

The full text of the statement:

I wish to convey my dismay and displeasure regarding the apathy displayed by the law and order machinery in not containing the spread of the hate campaign at Maharagama in front of a private business enterprise, yesterday. I also categorically condemn the hate campaigns against the Muslims and their business enterprises that are on the rise today in the country.

The seemingly anti-‘Halal’ protest as was witnessed in this hate campaign has no relevance or bearing on a textiles and clothes boutique such as this one. The derogatory references to the Muslims as a community, and the related isolated incidents that have taken place in different parts of the country in the recent past, are also a disturbing trend that ought to be reversed. We seek a peaceful end to these hate campaigns immediately. Law and order must be enforced to nip it in the bud. The government is duty-bound to protect all communities equally including the weak and the vulnerable.

At a time the country is recovering from a protracted thirty-year war, it is distressing to note that the conflicts between ethnic communities are showing signs of flaring up again, aided and abetted by certain groups trying to discredit the government and the Sri Lankan State. We must act with restraint and tolerance, by not falling prey to vested interests that spread hate and religious bigotry and thereby inviting unwanted external interference. I believe that this could also be part of a conspiracy to isolate Sri Lanka in the international arena. As intelligent citizens who love our motherland we must not pay heed to those promoting religious disharmony.

I have always acknowledged that the Muslims are an integral part of the Sri Lankan nation. We have always endeavoured to live in absolute harmony with the Buddhists for almost one thousand years and others from different faiths. The Buddhists have always been benevolent to the community and we must not allow this peace to be destroyed.

As the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a constituent party of this government, I appeal to the Muslims and to the Sinhalese to foster the full integration of Muslims into a Sri Lankan nation and to condemn attempts that destroy this harmony. I appeal to the Muslim community too to act with absolute tolerance as per the divine teachings of Islam."