Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The End Of The Facebook Ban

By Rohan Jayasekera –MARCH 14, 2018

Rohan Jayasekera

Sri Lanka’s ban on Facebook and other social media channels was not the way to end a sudden increase in communal violence on the island – but lifting the ban this week will not deliver a solution either.

Technology bans are meaningless. The men of violence will always find ways to share their hate, by paper if needed – police raiding a suspect’s office in Kandy reportedly found thousands of leaflets designed to incite anti-Muslim attacks.

Many of the extremists’ followers simply turned to censorship-busting technology like VPNs to bypass the telecoms ministry’s ban, or used different chat apps after some were banned alongside Facebook this month.

Facebook, which also owns the chat app WhatsApp, says it has rules against hate speech and incitement to violence, but observers list several cases where overt calls for attacks on Muslims had been missed by the social media giant.

In the meantime Sri Lankans have been denied access to a medium that often provides the only independent sources of news. It is also a vital means for families abroad or separated by violence, to check on their loved ones’ safety.

The uptick in violence, credited to postings on Facebook threatening fresh attacks on Muslims after two died in communal violence in Kandy, is a lasting threat that pre-dates the massive growth in Facebook usage on the island.

Never was the phrase ‘don’t blame the messenger’ more appropriate. It is the state’s failure to tackle incitement to violence by extremist so-called Buddhist monks that is at the root of the crisis – not their choice of communications.

Extremists like Amith Weerasinghe and his Mahason Balakaya group, the Bodu Bala Sena, hardline monk Ampitye Sumanarathana Thero, and among others, Dan Priyasad, held last November for attacking a safe house for Rohingya Muslim refugees, have several hundreds of thousands of Facebook and You Tube followers between them. Some have been banned, others have been left alone.

Facebook executives are flying to Colombo for an expected ear-bashing from the President’s Secretary Austin Fernando tomorrow (15th), but the social media giant’s problem runs deeper than just a lack of Sinhalese speaking monitors.

The giant’s business model has been recently re-tuned its distribution algorithms to concentrate on material that’s hastily shared between emotional friends, and discriminate against thoughtful news produced by independent publishers.

Sri Lanka was also one of a group of nations whose independent media was hit by this and other de facto ‘exclusion orders’ – leaving the space open to fake news and hate speech quickly shared by online ‘friends’ of more ‘friends’.

So-called ‘Fake News’ and hate speech peddlers sources routinely do overwhelmingly better than real news sources, as the system profits from number of shares – not from the quality or honesty of the content itself.

Did Sri Lanka's Facebook ban help quell anti-Muslim violence?

Sri Lanka urged to lift social media ban as critics slam government and Facebook for past failure to act on hate speech.

Facebook was blocked after the government decided to shut down social messaging networks [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]

by Zaheena Rasheed & Amantha Perera

Colombo, Sri Lanka - Rioters were already on the streets when authorities in Sri Lanka blocked access to the internet.

The mob - angered by the death of a Sinhala Buddhist man who was beaten by a group of Muslim men - swept through neighbourhoods in the South Asian nation's central Kandy district for a third day on March 7, setting fire to and vandalising mosques and scores of Muslim homes and businesses.

President Maithiripala Sirisena, in an interview with Sinhala weekly Divaina on Sunday, blamed social media for the riots, the third major attack against Muslims in Sri Lanka since November.

"Extremist groups were using social media in the most heinous manner," he said. "That is why we had to limit it."

Calm has returned to the central hills now, but a state of emergency declared to stem the violence remains in place. At least two people were killed in the riots and 232 homes were destroyed.

More than 280 suspects have been arrested, and access to the internet has been restored. But, Facebook, which has more than 5.5 million users in Sri Lanka, remained blocked, along with social messaging application WhatsApp.

Calls to lift the ban were growing on Wednesday, with critics claiming the move had been ineffective in quelling violence against Sri Lanka's Muslim minority, who make up nine percent of the country's 21 million population.

'Vicious, brutal, venomous'

Sanjana Hattotuwa, an analyst at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, said the anti-Muslim sentiment online was "quite vicious, brutal and venomous", but that it was "not new".

Sinhala Buddhist nationalist individuals and groups were "technologically savvy", he said, and have used social media for years, posting memes, photos, videos and live broadcasts to spread and amplify their messages on a variety of platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

These groups accuse Muslims of high birth rates and forcing people to convert to Islam in order to reduce Sri Lanka's Sinhala Buddhist majority.

Hattotuwa said their followers are in the tens of thousands and their pages were "extremely well-curated and updated frequently".

That includes the Facebook pages belonging to Amith Weeransighe, one of the most prominent figures arrested over the latest bout of violence, and groups such as Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and Sinhala Ravaya.

Weerasinghe, in a video posted to Facebook and YouTube shortly before the riots, had urged his followers to converge on Digana in the Kandy district, saying: "This town has come to belong only to the Muslims. We should have started to address this a long time ago."

That video gained more than 50,000 views on YouTube in a week.

Similar posts, blaming Muslims for inciting the violence in Kandy, and videos in which men in saffron and maroon robes called for support from viewers, were shared widely prior to and during the riots.

In one such video, a man in a maroon robe labelled Muslims as a "threat to the Sinhalese" and told his supporters: "Enough of being patient. The knife you have at home is not just to cut the jackfruit. Now take your knife and go."

Many of these posts have since been taken down by Facebook.

Amith Weerasinghe's profile, and pages run by Weerasinghe's Mahason Balakaya group and the BBS have also been blocked, and it was not clear how many supporters they had online. However, the online followings of other similar figures and groups provide a window into their reach.

Ampitye Sumanarathana Thero, a hard line monk, who was reportedly seen in Kandy before the riots has nearly 40,000 followers. In a post on March 6, he warned the government against what he said was discriminatory treatment of the Sinhalese "majority race". Another key figure, Dan Priyasad, who was held last November for attacking a safe house where Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled violence in Myanmar had taken refuge, has more than 70,000 followers.

On February 24, a week before the Kandy riots, he had urged his followers to "protect your own race".

Meanwhile, a Facebook group called Sinhala Buddhist, with nearly 800,000 followers, posted updates after the block, one of which claimed the rioters were paid by the government.

The CPA flagged some of these groups in a report in 2014, including the Sinhala Buddhist group, after anti Muslim rioting in southern Aluthgama left four dead and 80 others injured. At the time, the group had 200,000 followers. In less than four years, it has added 600,000 new followers.

"The danger of glossing over impact of online hate speech is that a process of radicalisation, particularly targeted at and occurring amongst the youth, risks undermining Sri Lanka's already post-war democratic fabric," the report's authors warned at the time.

Sinhala censors

In an emailed statement, Facebook said it was responding to the situation in Sri Lanka and "are in contact with the government and non-governmental organisations to support efforts to identify and remove such content".

The social media giant, which has drawn criticism for failing to tackle hate speech that has spawned violence in countries such as Myanmar and South Sudan, said it is investing in technology and human expertise to remove content that violated its policies.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said the company has 14,000 censors who review reports in more than 40 languages, including Sinhala.

The company plans to double its global security team to 20,000 people this year, she added.

But, Duminda Jayasena, a Sri Lankan Facebook user, publicised on Tuesday a response from Facebook to a post he flagged over incitement to violence last week. The post in Sinhala said: "Kill all Muslim infants, don't let even one remain".

But Facebook found that it did not violate the company's hate speech standards.

Harin Fernando, Sri Lanka's telecommunications minister, said Facebook "does not have adequate resources to monitor posts in Sinhalese".

The company has removed more than 400 posts since the riots began, he said, adding that his ministry will be working with Facebook "to make sure this kind of content does not go up".
Officials from Facebook were set to visit Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Thursday, Fernando said, adding the block on the social network may be lifted then.

Harsha De Silva, deputy economy minister, urged on Monday President Sirisena to lift the block in a Twitter post, citing "negative impact" on Sri Lanka's economy, while Sagala Ratnayaka, minister for youth affairs said the ban will hamper tourism, as well as the information technology and e-commerce sectors.

Sagala Ratnayaka

✔@SagalaRatnayaka

Blocking Facebook and messaging apps long term is not an option. Social Media must start functioning so that the economy doesn’t suffer. Therefore access to Social Media must be unblocked ASAP and the Government must set in place a system to curtail hate speech and fake news

9:54 AM - Mar 13, 2018

The rot in Sri Lankan society

Frustrated by the block, many Facebook users, including Sinhala Buddhist nationalists, have been turning to Virtual Private Network or VPN technology to circumvent the block.

"Even my hairdresser at the saloon had it on," said Shalini Peiris, a young mother from Colombo, referring to the use of VPN. The ban had made organising her children's activities at school difficult, she said, adding: "Only a mother like me would know the value of parents' groups on Facebook and WhatsApp."

Journalists also said the block hampered them from gathering witness testimony from violence-hit areas, and prevented victims from telling their stories.

Meanwhile, Hattotuwa, the social media researcher, said Sri Lanka's government should also consider the use of WhatsApp by Sinhala Buddhist nationalist groups, as much of their organising was now being done via closed groups on the platform.

"These groups are impossible to monitor unless you are part of them," he said.

"Clearly, it's not social media that is to blame for this violence ... There's a rot within our society, and authorities need to address the root causes."

Screenshots of a conversation in one such WhatsApp group, provided by the CPA, showed a participant calling for an attack on Mosques on March 6. In that group, called Protect the Sinhalese, the participant had also posted a picture of machete and sticks, and called for an attack on mosques.
In another group called Sinhala devils, participants appeared to be discussing the Kandy attacks.

On March 7, the day the Internet was shutdown, one participant said, "When we went to attack, there was no one, they had left."

"Someone had given them the news," another said.

"We made the plan three days go," a third added.

Amantha Perera reported from Colombo. Zaheena Rasheed reported and wrote from Doha.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Govt. to set up new institution to monitor social media: Harin

2018-03-14

The government is discussing setting up an institution to monitor social media usage, Minister of Digital Infrastructure Technology Harin Fernando said yesterday.

He said this measure would be aimed at preventing posts which provoke hate against any community or religion.

“The government will not block social media such as Facebook but there will be strict monitoring, which will be aimed at preventing postings which provoke hate among communities and religions. This monitoring may result in barding those who upload hate speech on social media,” the Minister said.

The institute would also monitor those posting and watching child pornography and other pornography.

“ I am not for censoring but unwanted postings which provoke ethnic and religious hatred should be avoided as it could bring disaster to the country. “We have been witnessing postings which provoke people and even video clips which were false. Some have even uploaded false video saying such and such an establishment was attacked. Both Sinhalese and Muslims were engaged in such provocations over social media during the past few days,” the Minister said.

He added that the government had wanted Facebook to remove pages of those who provoke hatred sometime back before the trouble in Kandy. However, he said it was not possible as Facebook did not have sufficient human resources to do so. “Facebook actually did not have those who could be conversant in Sinhalese to identify and remove the Sinhala content which promoted hatred. Status of Sinhalese in the globe had played a role in this shortcoming as it is not a language which is spoken universally,” he said in this regard.

Mr. Fernando who defended the restriction of Facebook said one must remember that several countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Iran and Syria have blocked Facebook from time to time. “The country would have experienced the worst disaster than July 1983 racial riots if the government did not block social media. There was no other alternative to hate speech over social media became uncontrollable,” he said. However, the Minister revealed that around 800,000 people have managed to log into Facebook through virtual private networks despite measures taken to block it. (Yohan Perera)

SRI LANKA GOVERNMENT IS PUNISHING THE PUBLIC FOR THE ACTIONS OF SOME

Andrea Brito Babapulle.-14/03/2018

How many of those caught for burning the shops etc used face book to recruit their group? How many used Skype? How many used email? None did. Do they use places of worship? Which places of worship then?

How many lauded the actions of the few? No one. How many would have praised the actions of the government against the few who were affected? Many would but silenced. The recent votes for an ex majority in power now ousted merely shows the ignorance of the actions taken by the present in not keeping the public aware of what it does for people.

Making public statements in appreciation about the votes which showed the “loyalty” of a community only serves to further divide and sow discontent and unrest between those who are not of a community but supported the government.

You cannot stop the world via CNN, BBC, reuters, and other Observer organisations and media users from having access to news which is published by our press. So why punish the “indifferent local users? ” indifferent they are. But it shows the world that freedom of information is not in sri lanka and is not permitted.

By banning social media it shows the world that a few can cause socially embarrassing situations for the government but not the public. The social media mentioned above are used by friends and family not rabble rousers. Many are images and jokes, of family or parties and reunions.

The attitudes of the people themselves who burn and damage those who were burnt or damaged shows that there is a difference and it is against our local majority. They feel under privileged. People have a grouse. The unrest shows that the grouse is not addressed and is likely ignored.

Watching a movie “bophai” the unrest in Africa. Does it mean that the “TV” will be stopped too? Mass media can be used to promote unity. One dress which is neutral, sari or western or national dress. “Nethera” uniting tamils and sinhalese; the day after? A bomb. By unitng people in dress, they will not be a target for those who have a grouse. “Sri Lanka is hostile to the elephant population”. Actions not words. There are laws no doubt but ineffectual. 2000 illegal buildings in Colombo. What law?

The local grapevine is by word of mouth not media .

From The Safest To An Insecure Sri Lanka For Muslims – III

By Ameer Ali –MARCH 14, 2018

Dr. Ameer Ali

Whatever happens to them, the Muslims of Sri Lanka, like the Sinhalese, are here to stay, and they, like the Sinhalese, have nowhere else to go. It is malicious to spread the canard that just because Muslims follow Islam they can migrate to Arabia. It is also a myth believed by some Muslims that if anything untoward happens to them the world of Islam will come to their aid. Those who have some inkling of understanding of how the world order works will realise the absurdity behind these beliefs. The global aspirations of so-called Brotherhood of Islam has never overtaken sectional aspirations of nation states. Every community in Sri Lanka therefore, has to confront and solve its problems with its counterparts by working within the national framework, and no foreign power or its agency is going to intervene to solve for them. This is one bitter lesson that the Tamil community must have learnt after the civil war, and a lesson that others cannot ignore. The country belongs not to any one community but to all communities inhabit there.

The civil war it faced was an unnecessary and a costly political tsunami driven by ego. It only showed that the political system the country inherited from the British failed to produce statesman when it needed one, but instead allowed self-centred and megalomaniacs to take the country along a blind alley. The current wave of violence against Muslims reinforces my belief that the country needs a systemic change to get out of its ethnic quagmire. Former president JR and leaders who followed him wanted to transform Sri Lanka into another Singapore without realising that Singapore achieved its growth and prosperity on the solid foundation of ethnic harmony. Lee Kwan Yew, with a technocratic cabinet and an iron fist, kept the Chinese chauvinism at bay when it clamoured for Chinese to be the official language. Where is the leader in Sri Lanka who can provide this foundation?

The recurring anti-Muslim violence from a short term perspective is a law and order problem but from a long term perspective is a symptom of political pathology. As a law and order issue the solution is simple. Take immediate action whenever and wherever violence breaks out. It was the government’s delayed action that allowed the incident at Digana to snowball. In this era of instant communication technology lack of information to act upon is no excuse. This only allows one to suspect that the delay was deliberate. Such delayed action is not new. SWRD did that in 1957 and JR did it in 1983. Time in their hands became a political weapon. Related to this is the role of funeral marches. It was the funeral marches in 1957 and 1983 that triggered widespread violence against the Tamils. Needless to say that it was also the long funeral march to Horogolla that swung peoples’ sympathy for Srimavo to become Prime Minister. Had the funeral march been stopped in Digana it would have at least reduced the severity of the mayhem. The political exploitation of funerals must be stopped.

However, these measures can only help prevent anti-Muslim violence from escalating. To stop them occurring at all the fundamental issues that I discussed in the earlier parts have to be tackled, both by the Muslim community as well as by others. Let me take the Muslim community first.

The progress of the Muslim community and its peaceful coexistence depends crucially on the quality of its political leadership. Any political leadership of any community for that matter should be one that must be unreservedly patriotic to start with and should staunchly believe that the advancement of its community is not possible unless the country advances. Without enlarging the size of the national cake, competing for larger pieces is an exercise in futility. On this score, the attitude and performance of the current Muslim leadership is shockingly disappointing. On national issues such as rising cost of living, mounting national debt, depleting natural resources, privatization of education and healthcare, role of foreign capital and so on, has any Muslim parliamentarian made any positive contribution to the national debate? True, Muslim community has a number of grievances, but should that be the only concern of their representatives in the national legislature? Shouldn’t they care about the nation as a whole? By concentrating solely on their own community’s problems, the leadership becomes parochial and inward looking. The importance of the national outlook and patriotic commitment cannot and should not be underestimated because, it is that which is ultimately going to create the image that Muslims are not simply in Sri Lanka but of Sri Lanka. It was the absence of that national concern among Muslim leaders, which once prompted late Colvin R. De Silva to remark that Muslims in Sri Lanka are “like the cow and the grass”.

This is why I said in part II, that the formation of SLMC was a historic blunder. It worsened the community’s image in the country not only by isolating the Muslims politically, but also and more dangerously, by promoting communal parochialism at the expense of nationalism. Had Muslim political leadership, even before SLMC was born, been more nationalistic and inclusive in outlook, they would have been the bridge builders between the Sinhalese and Tamils. SLMC in particular, accentuated ethno-nationalism. What have the SLMC leaders achieved so far except ministerial positions to accumulate wealth for themselves and their cronies? Does it have an economic policy? The long-term solution to the current crisis demands that the community produces a political leadership that is patriotic, intellectual, honest and inclusive.

Militant Buddhism: Sri Lankan navy constructs vihara office in Nainativu

14Mar 2018

A senior Sri Lanka navy commander declared open a newly constructed office for a Buddhist vihara in Nainativu earlier this year, as Sri Lankan military involvement in consolidating Sinhala Buddhism in the North-East continues.

Sri Lanka’s Commander Northern Naval Area Rear Admiral Jayantha De Silva was the chief guest a ceremony to open the new office at the “Nagadeepa Viharaya” in Nainativu.

Naval engineers were involved in the construction, reports an official military website.

The Sri Lankan state has stepped up the construction of Buddhist shrines across the North-East since the brutal end of the armed conflict in 2009, often with Sri Lankan troops involved in the building.

The US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 said the continued building of such sites despite objections from locals and leaving civil society with the perception of “Buddhist Sinhalese religious and cultural imperialism”.

Havoc in the hills: A Reflection

Image courtesy DNA India

BISHOP DULEEP DE CHICKERA-03/14/2018

Madness against Muslims

The shameful acts of violence against the Muslim community in the Kandyan hills, were possible because the violence unleashed against the Muslim community in Ampara and Aluthgama and several other places had been tolerated for too long. If not, the aftermath of the senseless killing of a Sinhala man by some Muslims at Teldeniya, would not have gone so far.

The freedom to harm

Unacceptable as these and any acts of violence are, this tragic narrative is not about violence only. It is about violence that thrives on impunity.

To date, apart from the ritual of arrests, some prosecutions and bail, there have been no convictions. Those responsible for the calculated harm against equal citizens of this country and the incitement of religious hatred remain protected. They walk the streets, free to spread fear and intimidation and ridicule the rule of law, yet again.

Deliberately or not, this freedom has wrenched the current attention of the nation away from regime failure to address some of the most serious and shocking allegations of corruption and the abuse of power the country has experienced.

Trapped under the rule of law

After a worrying pause, the people’s representatives made their face saving messages calling for restraint. Everyone; the perpetrators of violence, the victims, the law enforcement authorities, the silent middle majority; we all know, that these inevitable calls for community restraint come from those who restrain the law from taking its course. This is the reality trap we have lived in for decades.

The rule of law compromised in Colombo, Kandy or Jaffna amounts to the rule of law compromised in all corners of the Island. It’s like the polluted air we breathe. It defies boundaries to descend on the hills and the plains, the guilty and innocent, perpetrators of violence and victims alike.

The thirst for credible governance

Impunity will only be regulated when those who confuse their sacred obligation to ensure the rule of law with an imagined right to meddle with the law, step back to allow the law to take its course. There are still persons in the brown uniform with adequate competence and nerve to steer this process with impartiality.

It is when the people sense this long overdue shift in their faltering representatives, that the call to community restraint will make sense. Civil governance bears good fruit when there are signs that the servants of the people are talking to themselves and among themselves about themselves.

Mindful introspection in representatives and people has immense potential to create a ground swell for the long overdue apology to the Muslims for the unaddressed humiliation and harm they have had to endure.

Drinking from our own wells

Civil governance alone cannot transform societies. There is a duty the people owe each other to make this happen. The stirring story of the lone Buddhist monk and dayakaya, who reportedly spent the nights in a mosque, is a profound home grown lesson in reconciliation. The responsibility to protect ones neighbours place of worship is in effect an endorsement of the right of ones neighbour to worship.

In times of communal violence, sensible governments and courageous neighbours are to stand with the helpless and harassed. It is then that victims will come to experience the warmth of human security; and perpetrators checked and corrected through the sheer moral force of contrast human narratives.

These changes will not come easily. The current culture of sectarian violence, impunity and complicity will continue to raise its head. Even a life time may not be enough to transform the lack of moral courage; and racist tendencies die slowly. But there is no other way to regain and celebrate our common humanity.

There is no other way to turn swords into bridges.

With Peace and Blessings to all!

‘It was not a Sinhala-Muslim clash, it was a mob attack on Muslims’

Xenophobic forces have mobilised themselves and seem to have identified a new enemy in post-war Sri Lanka, says the cabinet minister

Meera Srinivasan

- MARCH 14, 2018

Rauff Hakeem is the Minister of City Planning and Water Supply in Sri Lanka’s national unity government and the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a prominent Muslim political party. A lawyer and a senior parliamentarian, he represents Kandy district, which recently witnessed violent attacks by Sinhalese mobs that claimed at least two lives and destroyed many mosques, Muslim-owned shops and homes. The episode has left the island’s Muslim minority, who make up about 10% of the population, in shock. Speaking toThe Hinduat Dharussalam, his party headquarters in Colombo, Mr. Hakeem situated the violence within the larger political scape of Sri Lanka after the civil war ended in 2009, with the armed forces crushing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as well as in the global context of growing Islamophobia. Excerpts:

How do you view the recent attacks targeting Muslims in different parts of Kandy district in the central highlands and the preceding incidents in Ampara in the Eastern Province? Anti-Muslim attacks have been on the rise from 2012.

On the one side, this has been a local manifestation of an international problem – Islamophobia. It has intensified due to very deliberate actions of certain xenophobic forces that have mobilised themselves intensely, particularly after the war victory, looking for another enemy. They look for pretexts to attack Muslims and target their economy and livelihoods. Their deliberate attempts have had a fair share of political patronage.

Some of these [Sinhala-Buddhist] extremist organisations came into prominence around 2011-12, starting with the hijab issue, then the campaign against Halal [certification], which were all pretexts to create this “enemy mindset”.

The Halal issue was used to create unnecessary fear in the minds of non-Muslims, whereas food practices of Muslims, Halal slaughter methods or ingredients that go into the food consumed by Muslims have never been a problem in the past. Business rivalry, jealousy and a variety of other reasons also contributed towards creating a phobia. And then it came to other lifestyle issues of Muslims, particularly women wearing the hijab — these were also being looked at as alien to Sri Lankan culture.

The Aluthgama, Beruwala incidents [anti-Muslim riots in 2014] were among the worst violent episodes based on hate speech. These two incidents in Ampara and Kandy were very carefully planned. They happened soon after the local government elections where the [Mahinda Rajapaksa-backed] Joint Opposition had a very sizeable victory, and in which the country’s ethnic polarisation was pronounced. That is another indicator of whether there was some political background to this. We cannot totally rule out the possibility of some type of political motivation. This is endemic to our culture.

Whatever political party we [may be from], we need to refrain from patronising extremist elements for political expediency. The recent incident was not a Sinhala-Muslim clash, it was a mob attack on Muslims and it was repeatedly taking place. The failure of the government to protect Muslims — that is another serious issue.

Yes, you have accused the police of having been lethargic.

Totally. They are complicit in this violence by their deliberate negligence, to say the least, if not active support, by not coming to the rescue of Muslims in a timely manner. On top of it, the failure of the intelligence community to have a proper early warning about what was going to happen. We local politicians knew that something was going to happen on the day of the funeral [of a Sinhalese driver who succumbed to injuries after an altercation with Muslim youth in a road rage incident, which triggered the riots]. We kept speaking to all the responsible officers, they kept reassuring us that there was nothing to worry about and that they would take care. Finally, when it happened, they all put up their hands in exasperation and said, “We never anticipated that this would be of such a scale and we just could not contain the violence”, simply trying to trot out excuses. They should have been prepared for such a calamity. It looks like callous disregard for the safety of the Muslim minority in this country.

Minority or any other community, it is the bounden duty of the government to ensure their safety, particularly when it is quite apparent that something sinister was brewing. A lot of people have a lot of explaining to do.

This is where impunity comes in. The culture of impunity that was there during the Rajapaksa regime came to re-establish itself in this manner when it came to law enforcement. This is a very serious issue and Muslims are furious. Just after the war victory, these xenophobic forces gained momentum and it culminated in pogroms such as Aluthgama and Beruwala, which resulted in the entire minority community installing a new government. Just because you wear a saffron robe it does not mean you have total freedom to say what you want. Particularly when it comes to hate speech. While some action was taken against one or two originally, the government felt they had to soft-pedal this.

In this country, the values of coexistence are well understood, and Muslims have contributed in no small measure to national unity and to the safety, sovereignty and integrity of this country. We have absolutely no problem living peacefully with the Sinhala majority.

Then there is also a canard being created about demographic changes happening by deliberate fertility programmes among Muslims and making Sinhala women infertile through preposterous, dubious methods. The government needs a proper communication strategy to stop such false propaganda.

You spoke about backing this government. In 2015, the national unity government would not have come to power without the support of Muslims. Given that eastern Muslims voted as a block for this coalition, do you think the government is letting down the Muslim minority?
Given the way in which the government was reacting to some of these issues, the least you can say is that there was this unwarranted inhibition in their approach to strict law enforcement. This is what is angering Muslims. Why this inhibition? The inhibition is perhaps due to the fact that they are losing ground among the Sinhala majority, but this is a minuscule minority of radicals. You are never going to win that vote bank.

This could also be part of a design to wean away Muslims [from this government]. The minorities, the pattern in which they voted in the local government polls, indicated quite clearly that they still remain the pillar of support of this government. Trying to create this perception that Muslims are now disgruntled and outraged to such an extent that at least a certain percentage will move away could benefit some sections politically.

Can you reflect on this a bit more historically? In one of the first major riots in Sri Lanka in 1915, Muslims were targeted. In terms of parliamentary politics in the last few decades, your party has mostly aligned itself to the government of the day. Is it uncomfortable for you to still be in government when repeatedly, post-war, your constituency is targeted?

When you look at it emotionally and sentimentally, you can become very impulsive, resign in a huff and go to the opposition. I don’t think there is anybody more qualified than me to speak about it — because I have done that twice before. In hindsight I feel that we cannot be so impulsive all the time. We have to look at the total picture.

But here again there was another issue. There was this blame game by the two partners in government against each other, destabilising the government itself, contributing further to its decline.
You mean after the local government elections in February?

Yes, soon after the local government elections the type of blame game that took place between the two major partners in government was a matter of discomfort for all of us who are partners in this government. It seems that there is no coherence in governing, and there is a lot of indecision. Such political instability creates a fertile ground for these [extremist] forces. That needs to be settled quickly.

How do you respond to claims that there is rising fundamentalism in the Eastern Province, with funding from West Asian countries?

You know, it’s very typical, this question after a lengthy interview of this nature. Not only you, several media people who have come to interview me end up asking this question. It is again a manifestation of an international mindset. But locally, I don’t see that Muslims have been radicalised to that extent so as to resort to violence.

Whatever radicalisation has been happening, it is in the cultural domain — you see their dress, their attitude to observing their faith, you see a certain amount of this happening, they talk about Wahhabism, or the Salafi ideology being the cause for most of this radicalisation. Then there are various Jama’aths like Sri lanka Thawheed Jama’ath. It is not a case of sectarian radical groups coming and taking root, but these are different schools of thought in Islamic philosophy.

We local politicians know. We have been monitoring, we keep our ears to the ground and we interact with all these people. Sometimes when it is necessary we criticise the attitude of some of these people — the way they propagate their ideology because it can give a different perception to the outsider, that this community is becoming a bit introverted, very exclusivist and reducing interaction with the rest of the community — these are frowned upon by a majority of Muslims in this country.

When it comes to religious practice, whether it is in Hinduism, Christianity, or Judaism, there are different strains, different ideologies being practised by fringe groups. I don’t think we need to worry about these fringe groups as long as they don’t resort to violence as a means to propagate their culture or ideology.

Issues like women’s rights have come into focus. People tend to think Islam is very slow in embracing certain liberal values when it comes to women’s emancipation or their rights. They are cultural issues and those reforms will have to come from within and that is happening now.

Today one of the main issues is women’s participation in the labour force. In South Asia, we are far behind compared to other countries. There are several factors contributing to it. It is because we are more protective of women. But any religious taboo against women working has over time got de-escalated so much that a large number of Muslim women are freely working. But of course, the way in which they dress or behave will be dictated by cultural norms, and that you cannot prevent. That is the right of those people to practise their own culture. That accommodation needs to be there and it should not be perceived as “the other”.

The incidents in Ampara and Kandy were very carefully planned. They happened soon after the local government elections in which the country’s ethnic polarisation was pronounced.

Sirisena’s racism pops up in Japan too ! Gnanassara the drunkard racist monk is invitee –photo is evidence!

(Lanka-e-News- 14.March.2018, 11.00PM) Confirming the truth of the allegations mounted by Lanka e news that president Maithripala Sirisena is behind the racial conflict which erupted in Kandy , an out and out anti Muslim racist criminal dipsomaniac monk Gnanassara who was contributory to inciting the racial riots also joined the group of the president that is touring Japan currently.

For the meeting held on the 13 th in the most luxury hotel ‘Imperial hotel’ in Tokyo , Japan , Gnanassara the monstrous monk was invited . (vide photo)

Believe it or not ! Sirisena has taken along with him to Japan two most notorious racists but wearing the saffron robes and calling themselves a s monks, namely Piyasiri Wijenayake and Somaweera Chandrasiri spending out of public funds. Now, it is only these racists are the friends of Sirisena who is presently embattled and desperate .

The same Sirisena alias Sillysena who mounted accusations against Rajapakses during their era of wasting public funds on mega groups being taken on foreign junkets by them has himself on this tour taken a group of about 100 members comprising his group.

President Sirisena who is by now a confirmed traitor for kicking away the people’s mandate of 2015-01-08 unconscionably and shamelessly , taking along with him on his foreign junkets any crook , racist , pavement idler, rabid dog or bitch is of no issue if he meets the expenses out of his own personal funds. But when he is wasting the funds of the public , the wrath of the abysmally suffering people is on him , for they naturally feel the losses , though Sillysena does not.

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by (2018-03-14 19:39:53)

Anti-Muslim Riots In Sri Lanka: The Riots Of The Other

By Malini Balamayuran –MARCH 14, 2018

Dr. Malini Balamayuran

The anti-Muslim conflagrations that shook the country last week began when Kumarasiri, a Sinhalese Buddhist, died after an attack of a group of Muslim men in Teldeniya, Kandy. Neither, the deployment of 7000 security services including police and army or the declaration of state of emergency had impeded the occurrence of communal disturbances in the outskirts of Kandy town. Consequent to the death of the Sinhalese man, the extremist group within the Sinhalese Buddhists commenced to exploit tension, attempting to instigate a new round of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Even today, a tense situation has forced all communities to live in fear and anxiety as there are possibilities of spreading violence to other parts of the country. This has now become the part and parcel of everyday life in Sri Lanka. The diverse sources reveal that this recurring trend, what is happening against the Muslim community, would foster harmonious co-existence almost impossible in near future.

Outlining the riots in Sri Lanka

The worst communal violence unleashed against Tamils in the past had deteriorated the civic relationship between Sinhalese and Tamils. At some point, one could argue that the violent attacks against Tamils by extreme Sinhalese had caused the more prolonged conflict in Sri Lanka. Still the country struggles to overcome the exacerbated ethnic divisions, suspicions and conflicts. Again, at present, the sense of Muslim-Sinhalese antagonism has become a very serious issue, putting an end to any hope of peace and harmony between Sinhalese and Muslims. It is imperative that the Muslim community had developed a healthy relationship with other ethnic communities particularly with Tamils until 1980s. However, since late 1980s, the Muslim community was also dragged into the conflict paving the way to the establishment of new relationships among them. This had led the Muslims to become more united than ever. At the same time, the fractious relationship between Tamils and Muslims, yet to be resolved, had made a strong sense of alliance between Sinhalese and Muslims in the past. However, soon after the end of military hostilities, the anti-Muslim sentiment has been instigated by the Pro-Sinhala Buddhists forcing Muslims to live with fear of conflict. How this has happened? Who caused this?

Islamophobia

The collective insecurity after the catastrophic events of 9/11 and the sporadic terrorist attacks carried out in countries like Norway, France and London have aggravated the Western governments to tighten the control over Islam and its extreme ideologies, presuming it as a danger and threat to the society. At present, it has become a global behaviour or action against Muslims and their extreme ideologies. Islamophobia is a fear of politics, advocating a frightening aspect of Islam and Muslims. The expression of fear, a key dimension of Islamophobia reflects Muslims as terrorists accentuating the anti-Muslim perceptions, attitudes and emotions against Islam. Many Western democratic countries have propagated a frightening picture of Muslims in the minds of people. The similar sentiments appear in the post-war Sri Lanka too.

The emergence of Ultra-nationalism

Prior to 2009, the extreme Sinhalese-Buddhist movements associated with some political parties had proclaimed that the peace is not an apt solution to the ethnic conflict, urging the government to engage in defensive warfare to respond the demand of separate state of the LTTE. However, immediately after the victory over LTTE, the Pro-Sinhala Buddhists recommenced to reformulate and redefine the Sri Lankan nation as to contemplate their passionate commitment to build entirely a Sinhalese-Buddhist nation leaving no rooms for whatsoever diversities in terms of recognition and respect of other ethnic or religious groups in post-war Sri Lanka. To make Sri Lanka more Buddhist nation, this new aggressive nationalism use Islamophobia to articulate Sinhalese-Buddhist national consciousness through instigating and exacerbating cross-cultural tensions between communities.

Since 2012, the Bodu Bala Sena or Buddhist Power Force (BBS), a hardline Sinhala- Buddhist organization has been constructing fear on Islam and Muslims. The aim of the BBS is to promote and protect the interests of Sinhalese-Buddhists rather than other communities in Sri Lanka. In the eyes of BBS, Muslims appears as the greatest threat to the Buddhist values, cultural identity and the way of life. Many occasions, the Bodu Bala Sena has inculpated the hegemony of Muslims in some sectors such as trade and business in Sri Lanka and reprehended the progress of Muslims in the economy as a threat to the spheres of social, economic, political and even cultural life of Sinhalese. In the context of Sri Lanka, the Muslims are not suspected in relation to the insecurity that relates the source of terrorism, as it is in the Western countries. However, the BBS has been highly criticizing the matters such as Muslim’s demand for halal services and increased mosques and Madrasas in Muslim and non- Muslim areas and inter-group violent conflicts among Muslims. Further, the hardline Sinhalese- Buddhists suspect the Islamic countries whether they are pumping a large amount of funds to promote radical Islam which could cater terrorism in Sri Lanka. It’s worth noting that the post-war regimes, somehow, allowed the pro-Sinhala Buddhist movements to get powerful. Till today, tackling the hate crime against the Muslim community for any post-war Sri Lankan government appears difficult although there are improvements seen in handling the current hate-crime against Muslims. It’s worthwhile to see how hardline Buddhists take a stand to control Muslims in Sri Lanka?