Sri Lanka arrests monk, police officer for anti-Muslim violence
Sri Lankan police have arrested four people including a Buddhist monk and a police officer accused of taking part in an attack on a mosque, as part of a crackdown on violence against the minority Muslim population.
Police said on Sunday the four were members of the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Power Force organization, which Muslim groups have blamed for a string of recent attacks on businesses and mosques. BBS has denied any involvement.
“The police arrested four people including a Buddhist monk and a serving police constable after watching the CCTV footage of an attack on a mosque,” police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody told reporters, referring to an attack on a property in Panadura, a suburb of the capital Colombo, on May 17.
“This is a major breakthrough in the investigations, these two people are prominent members of the Bodu Bala Sena organization,” he added, saying they were arrested with a sword, a hockey stick and equipment used to make petrol bombs.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s government has come under fire from opposition groups and diplomats for not doing enough to crack down on hardline Buddhist groups and protect Muslims.
More than 20 attacks on Muslims, including arson at Muslim-owned businesses and petrol-bomb attacks on mosques, have been recorded since April 17.
Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe have ordered police to uphold the law, but violence has continued.
Buddhists make up about 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 21 million, compared with around 9 percent for Muslims. Tensions have been growing, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslim counterparts of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalizing Buddhist archaeological sites.
Jayakody said police had arrested eleven people for hate speech offences this month, including a Muslim for a Facebook post against Buddhism and a Tamil accused of attacking a mosque.
In 2014, three Muslims were killed in riots stirred up by hardline Buddhist groups. Sirisena was elected the following year after a campaign in which he promised to solve the issues faced by ethnic minority Tamils and Muslims.
(Reuters)
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka withdraws Tri-Forces from former Presidents’ security effective today December 23, 2024
- Sri Lanka launches nationwide traffic operation today December 23, 2024
- Sri Lanka PM and ADB Country Director focus on education development December 22, 2024
- Nation’s greatest asset is its people: Sri Lanka Defence Deputy Minister December 22, 2024
- Sri Lanka Exits Default: A New Chapter in Economic Recovery December 21, 2024
More than half the people (55%) believe that factors such as ‘inappropriate activities by politicians’ and the ‘increasing crime rate’ are tarnishing Sri Lanka’s image.
Nearly six in 10 feel that the country’s image has not improved despite the change of government in January 2015 – they assert that Sri Lanka’s image ‘is being tarnished day by day’ and that while it hasn’t been long since the new Government was elected, ‘some people hold the same positions without changing their policies’.
However, a majority (80%) believe that our image has improved since 2009 when the prolonged civil war ended. They attribute this to the ‘peaceful environment in the country’ – 11% oppose this view and the rest (9%) are undecided.
Mr. Kapuddu Thorawansa,
Thanks for the statistics. But few questions. 1. Who did this survey? 2. What was the sample size? 3. Where was this survey carried out? 4. Who funded this survey? Could you please shed some light on this.