DifferentYetEqual: A campaign for equality and democracy

Aug 17, 2016

On the evening of 15 August 2016, we, a group of citizens from diverse backgrounds,

gathered together under the banner DifferentYetEqual, at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo

07.

We began discussing the need for such a campaign, to promote equality and justice in our

society, as many of us are deeply concerned by the continued atmosphere of racism and

intolerance in recent times. We have been particularly concerned with several incidents of

attacks against Muslim and Christian communities and their places of worship, around Sri

Lanka

. We have read countless reports (in 2016) of mobs disrupting Christian and Muslim

religious activities and gatherings violentlyii

. We are concerned by the ongoing campaign by

some groups to claim Sri Lanka as a ‘Sinhala-Buddhist’ nation. We are also acutely aware of

our responsibility as citizens to proactively counter these discriminatory ideologies. We are

firm in the understanding that no community needs to be treated less than equal for this

nation of ours to move forward. It is our diversity and pluralism than makes Sri Lanka the

nation it is.

We began as an informal group, disseminating our ideas and thoughts through social media

and other networks to a larger community of concerned citizens. We collectively organised

yesterday’s vigil, of our own volition as a citizen-led collective, using our own personal

funds. Everyone who attended the vigil came of their own accord. There were people of

diverse communities and from diverse backgrounds present at the vigil.

Soon, the vigil was disrupted aggressively by a group of people claiming to be

representatives of the ‘SinhaLe’ group. This group proceeded to carry out their campaign of

the promotion of racism and hate-speech. Conflict between the two groups ensued, as the

‘SinhaLe’ group goaded the vigil-attendees constantly. It only subsided finally because all

those at the vigil were able to be non-aggressive, non-confrontational, peaceful and tolerant,

while making their point assertively and strongly. Finally, the DifferentYetEqual group

disbanded collectively, peacefully, after singing songs of unity and peace and making their

statements to the media in Tamil, Sinhala and English. We disbanded before the ‘SinhaLe’

group did; this was our choice.

We are not an organisation, nor do we have any affiliations whatsoever to any political party

or personality and wholly reject any such claim.

The Media

As those gathered to demand a more just and equal Sri Lanka for us all, we were disappointed

by the behaviour of most of the media present there yesterday. Instead of covering the event

they had come there to cover – the DifferentYetEqual vigil for equality – many immediately

diverted all their attention to the disruptive elements. Most of the media present seemed more

interested in quickly turning their cameras to the unfolding drama, rather than seeking

balanced perspectives from those who had gathered for the vigil.

Several media reports following the vigil contain factual errors about DifferentYetEqual,

which are a sign of this unprofessionalism. This could easily have been avoided had the

journalists been interested in seeking out the facts; there were prepared media spokespeople

present, and we would have been happy to answer any questions.

We urge the media to take its responsibilities more seriously;

to ensure that they give equal time and effort to documenting and presenting multiple

perspectives so as to commit to impartiality and professionalism.

We are grateful however, to the non-mainstream media on social media platforms giving the

vigil coverage, and to mainstream media who worked hard to provide accurate reports.

The Police

The Cinnamon Gardens Police were informed of our plans for a silent, peaceful vigil days

before, by representatives of the group. We believe they had and have a continued

responsibility to stand by us, and all other citizens who are attempting to rally for equality in

a peaceful, non-disruptive manner.

Many police officers gathered at the site of the vigil, once the disruptive elements had

arrived. While members of the DifferentYetEqual group reasoned with officers asking them

to step in and do something, the officers did nothing until much later, when the OIC arrived

on the scene. By then, there was a strong police presence and we believe they could have

contained the situation more effectively and efficiently.

The police did step in strongly towards the end, but mostly to reason with the

DifferentYetEqual vigil group, and ask us to not engage and prolong the confrontation. They

did also try to reason with the ‘SinhaLe’ group, but we believe and feel they could have done

more. The ‘SinhaLe’ group also carried a distorted version of the national flag – a crime as

far as we know – and we urge the Police, in the future, to at least act strongly on matters like

that.

However, we are thankful for their presence there.

Finally, we are inspired at the way all vigil-attendees stood strong and responded peacefully

yet assertively in the face of aggression and hate. We believe in the power of citizens’

collectives and urge more citizens to join together to stand up against discrimination.

Together, we have immense power and we cannot be silenced. The vigil was not the end of

the DifferentYetEqual campaign; it was only the beginning. We hope to continue using social

media and public events to bring people together, to stand against racism and all other forms

of discrimination.