Tuesday 15 July 2014-Country/Region: Sri Lanka, South and East Asia
A hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka has launched a four-day campaign against “Christian fundamentalism” in the country as Christians face vicious attacks in ongoing efforts to stop their activities.CC BY 2.0 / Vikalpa | Groundviews | CPA
Ravana Balaya launched its programme on Tuesday (15 July), starting in Polonnaruwa before visiting other parts of the eastern and north central provinces. In an ominous message, Ravana Balaya General Secretary Ittekande Saddhatissa Thera said they would “advise” Christians to halt their activities but, if they failed to take heed, would take firmer action.
He said that the group decided to conduct a campaign after receiving complaints from Buddhist monks and others about evangelism by Christians.
Buddhist groups such as the Ravana Balaya are becoming increasingly militant in Sri Lanka, and as their agenda gathers greater support, attacks on Christians are becoming more frequent.
In two recent incidents, Christians were hospitalised with injuries sustained in mob violence.
A pastor was knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of his neck in a raid on his home on 12 May. His family and four other Christians present were also attacked. They had gathered there for a meeting with the police about an incident the previous day when the four had been threatened for holding a prayer meeting in their home.
While they were waiting for the police to arrive, 150 or so people surrounded the house and began shouting abuse. Around 40 people from the mob broke through the security fence around the property; some used poles from the fence to smash the pastor’s van, while others broke into the house and attacked those inside.
The police arrived ten minutes after the mob dispersed and took the Christians to the police station, holding them for questioning for seven hours. No attempt was made to apprehend the offenders.
Christians filed a case against their attackers, and a magistrate subsequently reprimanded the police and ordered them to arrest the perpetrators.
In the other incident, five Buddhist monks and 20 youth stormed a prayer gathering at the home of a Christian family in Waththegama, Kandy district, on 15 May. A female Christian worker was visiting the family when two strangers arrived and requested prayer. It later transpired that the mob had sent the pair as a set-up.
While the Christian worker was praying for them, the assailants burst in and assaulted the Christians. They led her away to the local Buddhist temple, where they drenched her with water and subjected her to verbal and physical assault; one youth began to choke her, threatening to kill her and warning her not to return to the village. A case was later filed against her for unethical conversions.
