We fear that Gnanasara’s visit to Australia - PHRE
- Sunday, 20 July 2014
'We fear that Gnanasara’s visit to Australia is the first step in spreading his malicious teachings within the Sri Lankan community in Australia and raising funds for its pernicious activities in Sri Lanka. It has the potential to even further polarize an already fractured Sri Lankan community and undermine the values of tolerance and multiculturalism that we hold so dear' said by People for Human Rights and Equality in their press statement.
The full text of the press statement as follows
It is with great dismay that we have come to learn that Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara, the leader of the extremist Sri Lankan Buddhist organization Bodu Bala Sena (Army of Buddhist Power) or BBS intends to visit Australia. We strongly believe that his visit will have serious consequences for harmony within the Sri Lankan community in Australia already deeply scarred by the three decades old war in Sri Lanka.
BBS has a history of demonizing ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka, particularly the Muslim and Christian communities, in the guise of protecting Buddhism. As a consequence of such hatemongering a wave of attacks against Muslim and Christian places of worship have taken place in the last few years in Sri Lanka. The most recent and most violent outburst of such violence occurred in June this year when following an inflammatory speech made by Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara, in which he openly incited a crowd to attack Muslim businesses in the area, a mob went on the rampage destroying property and attacking Muslims in the town of Aluthgama. Scores of properties were burnt down and four people were killed during the rioting. In recognition of the dangerous nature of Ganasara’s ideas the US government has already withdrawn a visa issued to him and the UK is said to be having serious reservations about extending a visa to him. The BBS has also been listed as a ‘cult terrorist group by the US based Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC).
We fear that Gnanasara’s visit to Australia is the first step in spreading his malicious teachings within the Sri Lankan community in Australia and raising funds for its pernicious activities in Sri Lanka. It has the potential to even further polarize an already fractured Sri Lankan community and undermine the values of tolerance and multiculturalism that we hold so dear.
Furthermore, in permitting the leader of a terrorist organization into Australia, the Australian government also runs the risk of allowing Australia to be used for raising funds for the said organization, with dire portents for the future.
It would be a tragedy if Australian government which hastened to issue a travel warning to Australian tourists to Sri Lanka soon after the Aluthgama riots has chosen to grant a visa to the man who instigated that very violence.
We earnestly entreat the government of Australia to reconsider its decision to permit Galagoda Atthe Gnansara to visit Australia and spare this country the ignominy of playing host to a hatemongering demagogue and the Sri Lankan community in Australia of his vicious, divisive propaganda.
