Monks Put Religious Freedom At Risk

• Muslim MPs in urgent talks with President

By Easwaran Rutnam- Thursday, January 31, 2013

Muslim government parliamentarians had an urgent meeting last week with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other top officials in the government.
The meeting was to raise concerns over threats faced by Muslims in the country after a campaign was launched by a group of monks targeting who they claim are “extremist” Muslims.
The ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ mostly made up of Buddhist monks, was among those groups believed to have been involved in the campaign against Muslims in the country. However the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ said it had nothing to do with the hate campaign against Muslims.
Despite the denial, the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ had late last year urged the government to mediate and stop the issuance of halal certification on the island.
The monks had given the impression that the money collected by the local institution issuing the certification was channeling it to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.
Last week the Bodu Bala Sena insisted at a press conference that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist nation and there was no room for a multi religious concept.
The hate campaign against Muslims got ugly last week when a group staged a protest in Kuliyapitiya carrying placards, which degraded Islam. Last weekend a group of monks threatened the management of a clothing store in Maharagama and staged a protest outside the store saying the management was Muslim.
The hate campaign then spread fast on the Internet with Muslims in Sri Lanka being targeted on Facebook, blogs and Twitter.
Chairman of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL), N. M. Ameen told The Sunday Leader that they were concerned with the developments. He said that while the monks claimed the protests were against the so called “Muslim extremists” it was affecting ordinary Muslims as well. Ameen said that the Muslim Council had sought the immediate intervention of the President and the government on the issue.
JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake also raised the issue in Parliament last week and sough a response from the government. The response the government gave was that a Parliament Select Committee would be appointed soon to look at the issue.
However UNP MP Kabir Hashim told The Sunday Leader that response was not enough. He says he was surprised at the response when the first thing the government should do is stop the unrest. “There is a breakdown of the established law and order. There is a group purposely creating discord among communities. First the government must stop this. There is no need for a Parliament Select Committee to do that. The government seems to be trying to deviate from facing the problem,” the MP said.
He also noted that during the protest in Kuliyapitiya the police had failed to act. MP Hashim said that the UNP would be having meetings with religious leaders over the next few days to discuss the issue. Hashim also warned that various conspiracy theories would spread if the government fails to address the issue soon.
However the government insists it is not taking the issue lightly. Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs M. K. A. D. S Gunawardena said President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed a committee to look into the issue.
“The government will not allow any religion to be abused. If something happens we will take legal action. All religions have equal rights.
We will deal with the issue based on the recommendations of the committee,” the Deputy Minister told The Sunday Leader.
Meanwhile, the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ issued a statement on its website urging the public not to use Facebook or the Internet as a whole to create discord among religions.
The ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ says its fight is against “terrorism” and the fight will continue. The ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ has scheduled public meetings early next month where the issue is likely to get aggravated further.
The Sri Lankan Constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom.
The Constitution states, “Every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice”.
The Constitution gives a citizen, “the right either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching”. The Constitution accords Buddhism the “foremost place” and commits the government to protecting it, but does not recognize it as the state religion.
The US State Department report released last year on religious freedom noted that there were reports of abuses of religious freedom in Sri Lanka. The report said that although the government publicly endorsed religious freedom, in practice there were problems in some areas.

Hakeem slams hate campaign against Muslims

Leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem has slammed the hate campaign being carried out by some Buddhist monks against Muslims and also expressed dismay over the inability of the police to contain a protest staged by monks in Maharagama last Saturday.
Hakeem said that 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.
Hakeem said that law and order must be enforced to nip it in the bud and that 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-years’ war, it is distressing to note that the conflict 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,” he said in a statement.

—————————————————–

We are not against Muslims - Bodu Bala Sena
The ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ says it has lodged a complaint with the police saying some groups were using the name of the organization to create a rift between Buddhists and Muslims.
Executive Committee member of the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ Dilantha Withanage told The Sunday Leader that the logo of the organization had been used in Kuliyapitiya during a protest by a group.
“We condemn any attempt to degrade any religion. We have nothing against Muslims. We were not involved in the Maharagama incident or in Kuliyapitiya. Our fight is only against unethical elements,” he said.
Withanage said that the main goal of the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ is to strengthen the Singhalese and Buddhism and not attack a religion.
He said that even if Singhalese Buddhists take part in unethical activities the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ would strongly oppose it.
“We will not promote anti-religious activities and that is why even on our website we put a statement against the campaign using Facebook,” he said.

Bodhu Bala sena terrorist group totally destroys a Christian holy statue – the true inside story leaks out

(Lanka-e-News-30.Jan.2013, 11.45PM) A valuable statue of holy blessed ‘heavenly mother’ at the Seethawaka St. Mary’s church , Avisawella which was erected to commemorate the 150th jubilee had been completely destroyed by the Bodhu Bala Sena terrorist group. This statue is 13 feet high and built at a cost of Rs. 6 lakhs by Christian devotees and completed on 27th January 2013. The most distressing and deplorable feature about this wanton destruction is , on the 28th January even before a day had elapsed after so much labor, love and money were spent on the construction and completed , it was totally devastated by this terror group setting fire to it. Though complaints had been made to the Avisawella police in this connection , no action has been taken so far. SL Defense secretary Gotabaya the one and only of his kind in the world for notoriety has given instructions to the police not to expose this and to suppress the investigations. Might we recall that lately this same Bodu Bala Sena terrorist group broke into a Hotel and stopped an event that was in progress. According to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division , though this Bodu Bala sena ostensibly is led by some monks , it is truly operated by Gotabaya Rajapakse. Some groups selected from the Army and Navy intelligence divisions are masquerading as civilians. One youth made a solemn confession to the Lanka e news inside information division that they are receiving instructions directly from Gotabaya. Based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division , this Bodu Bala sena terrorist group is being operated by Gotabaya even keeping the State intelligence unit in the dark. Recently , they had held a most secretive and clandestine meeting where future plans were discussed. It is noteworthy that the present regime which appoints sham Select Committees to falsely inquire into the harm inflicted on other religious followers is itself operating an extremist terrorist Organization . While the constitution expressly guarantees freedom for every citizen to follow his own religion , and if somebody is transgressing this , might we point out , it is the duty of the Govt. to enforce the law against the transgressor irrespective of his position or political affiliations ,rather than appoint bogus Select Committees. ( what is shown in red in the photograph is the statue that was destroyed) Government formed Bodubala Sena to conduct anti-democratic activities: Vickramabahu [ Wednesday, 30 January 2013, 02:18.04 PM GMT +05:30 ] Leader of the left front Vickramabahu Karunaratne said at present government has formed a group name Bodubala Sena to conduct anti-democratic activities in the country. Addressing media briefing in Colombo leader went on to say, SriLankan government announced that they are ready face resolution to be passing against the country at the 22nd UNHRC session in Geneva. We all know that government was not in that position. They fail to implement LLRC recommendations in the country, leader said. Bodu Bala Sena meets MR

U.S. Senators call for international probe into Sri Lanka war crimes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 January 2013, 02:28 GMT]
U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) called for an independent, international investigation into potential war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE during the civil war in Sri Lanka. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Senators said such an investigation is needed because the legitimate concerns of the Sri Lankan people have not been answered by the government, Senator Leahy's website reported. “Sri Lankans have legitimate concerns about war crimes committed during the civil war that are not being addressed by the government, and an independent, international investigation is needed to get answers,” the letter said.



Full text of the letter follows:

The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton
Secretary
Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

We are writing to urge you to call for an independent, international investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE during the civil war in Sri Lanka. We also support a resolution at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting which condemns the Government of Sri Lanka for not abiding by its commitments to seek accountability and reconciliation. During the years following the end of the war, the Sri Lankan people have waited for the government to address these concerns, yet no tangible or substantial progress has been made. Achieving a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka will require continued and sustained leadership by the United States and others in the international community committed to genuine accountability.

Senator Robert Casey

Senator Patrick Leahy

Sri Lanka has repeatedly rejected any international inquiry into what it believes are domestic issues, and for the last year, the United States has supported the Government of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) process. Notably, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch refused to participate in the LLRC proceedings and called for an unbiased international inquiry. Their concerns were borne out in the LLRC’s report, which exonerated the Sri Lankan Armed Forces from any human rights violations while accusing the Tamil fighters of committing mass atrocities. The report addressed a wide spectrum of issues, including: the demilitarization of civilian functions in the North; the creation of mechanisms to address cases of the missing and detained; and land reform, especially for persons displaced by the conflict. The LLRC and its recommendations, while certainly imperfect, are the Government of Sri Lanka’s own proposed roadmap to peace. Over a year has now passed since the issuance of the report, and the Government has failed to do the difficult and necessary work of implementation.

Last year, the State Department played a key leadership role in the passage of United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 19/2, “Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka.” This resolution called for the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC’s constructive recommendations, while noting that the LLRC report failed to adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law. Yet despite the UNHRC resolution, the Government of Sri Lanka has done nothing to address the accountability concerns of the Council or, more importantly, of the Sri Lankan people. In July, the Government released a “National Action Plan to Implement the Recommendations of the LLRC,” but this plan only established committees to “consider” the LLRC recommendations, without mandating or taking any specific action.

The Sri Lankan people deserve better. In fact, as the Government of Sri Lanka fails to implement LLRC recommendations, the outlook for human and political rights in Sri Lanka appears to be getting worse. Although the LLRC report criticized the heavy militarization in the North and called for demilitarization of civilian functions, the Government of Sri Lanka has taken no tangible steps towards this goal. Continued military presence on private lands in the North is preventing the resettlement of internally displaced persons who desire a return to peaceful life. Additionally, security forces reportedly attacked Jaffna University students during a non-violent demonstration and submitted four students to involuntary rehabilitation. Such repression violates Sri Lankans’ right to peaceful expression.

We are particularly concerned about the recent impeachment of Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake. Ms. Bandaranayake pursued judicial independence by issuing court rulings that fell afoul of Colombo’s political elite. As your Department noted in a recent statement, this move by President Rajapaksa and his supporters in Parliament threatens the rule of law and the separation of powers, which are the cornerstones of a healthy democracy.

The Government of Sri Lanka has also continued to harass, intimidate, and even imprison journalists and activists that bravely express dissenting views or report on sensitive topics. As a recent Human Rights Watch report states, “The government’s campaign of harassment and intimidation of the media, plus the failure to investigate seriously abuses against journalists, has led to widespread self-censorship and caused many journalists to flee the country.” A truly free press is a prerequisite for holding the Government of Sri Lanka accountable for the implementation of the LLRC. We are concerned that the Government of Sri Lanka will continue to repress dissent unless the international community takes action.

In our November 2011 letter to you, we called for an independent investigation if the Government of Sri Lanka “failed to take credible steps to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable for the array of allegations documented in the UN Panel of Experts report.” We urge the State Department to pursue a resolution at the upcoming UNHRC session that would highlight the Sri Lankan government’s failure to implement the LLRC recommendations and decide to stand up an independent international commission of inquiry.

Accountability is a necessary precursor to reconciliation and a stable democracy in Sri Lanka. It is clear to us that the LLRC process is mired in bias and delays, and only an independent, international investigation will achieve real accountability. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your timely response.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator

Patrick Leahy
United States Senator

Transparency Intl. ranks Sri Lanka high on defence corruption

January 30, 2013 

Transparency Intern-ational yesterday put Sri Lanka among countries that scored low on promoting accountability in multi-million dollar defence transactions, releasing a first-time study on global defence corruption that evaluates 82 countries.

Sri Lanka is placed in Band E, among motley of nations including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Tunisia.
Though Sri Lanka scored low so did 70 per cent of the countries that were surveyed showing the seriousness of corruption in the defence sector.
Despite emerging from a three decade war in 2009, the study pointed out that Sri Lanka’s weapons procurement and payment policies remain opaque with few measures of transparency. It also pointed out that the country’s Executive power almost exclusively controlled the defence sector, including authorising payments that are not vetted by Parliament or other departments.
“In the field of personnel corruption risk, whistle-blowing is considered potentially treacherous. The President wields control over recruitment of personnel at the most senior levels, and there is a high risk of favouritism and politicisation in recruitment processes at other senior levels,” the report said.
Transparency International also emphasised that the problem of facilitation payments is reported to be widespread.
“In terms of competition in defence procurement, the principle of open competition is assessed to be likely to be undermined in practice, while tender boards or anti-collusion efforts are lacking in effectiveness. There is no transparency at all regarding control of agents or sub-contractors, or financing packages.”
In the field of finance corruption risk, the study says there is no transparency on asset disposals or on information classification, the latter having strong risk of being overly centralised following a history of Emergency Regulations. It also points out that there is no detail of money spent on secret items while the Financial Regulations of the Government enable ‘secret payments’. Meanwhile, the defence sector’s development of commercial business in the post-war has been extensive and faces negligible – if any – scrutiny.
The publication ranks 82 countries on their accountability. Together, they account for 94 per cent (US$ 1.6 trillion) of the global military expenditure in 2011.

Government formed Bodubala Sena to conduct anti-democratic activities: Vickramabahu

[ Wednesday, 30 January 2013, 02:18.04 PM GMT +05:30 ]

Leader of the left front Vickramabahu Karunaratne said at present government has formed a group name Bodubala Sena to conduct anti-democratic activities in the country.

Addressing media briefing in Colombo leader went on to say, SriLankan government announced that they are ready face resolution to be passing against the country at the 22nd UNHRC session in Geneva. We all know that government was not in that position. They fail to implement LLRC recommendations in the country, leader said. Bodu Bala Sena meets MR PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa met a group of Bodu Bala Sena representatives at Temple Trees yesterday in view of religiously motivated attacks and protests in some parts of the country. The President is seen stressing the need for forging strong ties among religious and ethnic communities to achieve national progress. (Picture Courtesy: President’s Media) Bodu Bala Sena meets MR While discussing a number of problems pertaining to Buddhist temples, priests and the practice of the Buddhist religion in the country overall, one of the main points of the conversation revolved around some of the ongoing disputes between some Muslim and Buddhist groups. Referring to the various messages that have appeared in the media recently, President Rajapaksa requested the group not to engage in any activities that would be seen as promoting communal hatred. The five priests at the meeting, including the head priest Kirama Vimalajothi Nayaka Thero, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero and Vitharandeniye Nanda Thero, informed the President that there are duplicate groups that claim to represent Bodu Bala Sena and use the name for their own purposes. The group reassured President Rajapaksa that they do not condone insulting other religions. Provincial council minister Udaya Gammanpila, who further detailed the problem with duplicate groups, reiterated the importance of inter-religious harmony. Condemning the recent incident that insulted the Islamic religion with the photograph of a swine, Minister Gammanpila said, "Just as we love our religion, they love their religion." Priests form the Bodu Bala Sena added that they too do not condone such behavior. Referring to the protest in front of the Nolimit store in Maharagama, one of the Buddhists priests said, "We said don't do it. It's not good for Buddhism or the country. Let's fix problems within our own religion. Let's learn from the Muslim community and their discipline." For several questions that arose pertaining to the Halal certification, President Rajapaksa and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa outlined in detail the Halal certification process and the reasons for its use by businesses. Before the discussion ended, President Rajapaksa once again repeated his request for Buddhist priests to help maintain ethnic and religious harmony in the country. "It is OK to work to strengthen the Buddhist religion, but it should be done without creating conflicts with other religions," President Rajapaksa said. Among the others present at the discussion were Minister of Water Supply & Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Petroleum Industries Susil Premajayantha, Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardana, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Chief-of-Staff Gamini Senerath. (Presidential Media)

‘Black January’ demonstration 2013: Protesting a perfect record of impunity

‘Black January’ demonstration 2013: Protesting a perfect record of impunity

Groundviews-30 Jan, 2013

Since 2005, in the month of January alone, the list of violent attacks on media personnel and journalists across Sri Lanka is mind-boggling. There is a very long yet still incomplete list of the attacks by Sunanda Deshapriya published on Groundviews. As he notes,

“Not a single case of killing, assault or arson listed here has been investigated to completion nor have the culprits been brought to book.”

Vikalpa took the photos below from the demonstration in Colombo. As the Committee to Protect Journalists avers,

Black January commemorations in Colombo have become an annual event. Tuesday’s demonstration was the second. The protest aims to recall the series of killings and attacks on journalists in Sri Lanka in recent years, many of them occurring in Januaries past. All of them have gone untried and unpunished, sustaining the country’s perfect record of impunity for those who want to silence media by murder.

'Black January' demonstration against the suppression of the media | Uphold Rule of Law

Slideshow ▾

'BLACK January' Resist Suppression of the MEDIA | Uphold Rule of LAW.

Protest front of Lipton Circle and Public Seminar in Public Library in Colombo, January 29, 2013, Protest organised by Alliance of Media Organisation.

More Information: www.vikalpa.org

34 photos | 271 views

items are from between 30 Jan 2012 & 29 Jan 2013.

.......................................................................................................................................................
If ‘Black January’ were not to repeat, Editorial, Ceylon Today

Journalists and Civil Activists protest in Colombo against media suppression

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2013

Media practitioners will stage a protest at Lipton Circus today, to mark what has become an increasingly uncomfortable month for journalists in Sri Lanka. Black January, as the month has established itself since the brutal murder of Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickrematunga on 8 January 2009, has had a number of black days in the ensuing years, delivering body blows to media freedom and fearing free expression in the process. Disturbingly, the perpetrators of all these incidents, including Lasantha’s murderers, still remain at large.

Assault on media personnel is nothing new. And in fairness, it must be admitted that the present regime was not the first to do so, nor will it be the last. Yet, a fundamental human right is continuing to be violated by the regime and the concept of ‘Freedom of the Press’ is fast becoming a very unpopular idea, especially among those who pretend to be the ‘gatekeepers’ of the government.

A free media is an integral component of democracy. But, instead of strengthening this vital component, the government has routinely threatened, intimidated, harassed the media, bringing to near submission today, with several journalists forced to flee the country and others afraid to write the truth.

The brutal assaults on journalists such as Keith Noyahr, Upali Tennekoon and Poddala Jayantha are only the tip of the iceberg. What is taking place in the North in this regard, intimidation and harassment of media personnel, is not even reported sometimes. The unholy practice of ‘killing the messenger when one doesn’t like the message’ is very much in evidence, and in some cases, in the most literal sense.

A modern version of ‘attacking the messenger’ can be seen when many blame the media for presenting bad news about a favoured cause, person or organization. The bitter truth remains that ‘shooting the messenger’ might be an age-old emotional response and a knee-jerk reaction to unwelcome and undesirable news, but it is not a very effective technique to be employed by those in power nor is it a proper way to remain well-informed in the fast-changing, modern world.

The fleeing of those ‘once-unafraid’ writers from the shores of Sri Lanka is continuing to date. But, Black January seems to have had no telling effect on those who made it black.

In such a morbid context, it is the public that is robbed of their right to information, and to be informed. For, what often filters down from a perch of fear and concern, are carefully edited versions of the truth, complete omissions and, if one is to take the State media, exaggerations and half truths. It is indeed tragic that the public often accept what is dished out in the State media as the gospel truth and in their ignorance, end up condoning undemocratic acts, both against the media and the public.

The greatest friend a tyrant could have is an uninformed public. The most formidable crusader against such a despotic practice and for keeping the public informed is the honest and fearless journalist. This is why the power of the pen can never be underestimated. This is also why every tyrant wants to keep the media under his thumb, with gifts and bribes, or attacks and intimidation.

At a time when the lines of separation of powers among the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are fading, at a time when a Chief Justice was subjected to the most humiliating treatment by some members of the Legislature, at a time when those who humiliate and ridicule the system of the rule of law in the country are at the receiving end of promotions and more lucrative government favours, and at a time when the practitioners of journalism are harassed, intimidated and forced to leave the country, writing anything even meagrely critical of the ruling elite could be considered high-risk and death-inviting.

But, if we are to survive as a vibrant democracy amidst this unholy and suffocating atmosphere, one must be fearless, one must be courageous, and one must continue to write the truth as one sees it. That is our fundamental right.