A dangerously fraught chapter

in post-war Sri Lanka

Sunday, June 22, 2014
The atrocity that is Aluthgama 2014 happened at the instigation of outsiders brought into the
area That much is clear As said by stricken Sinhala and !uslim residents" #this had no
in$ol$ement with our communities" we li$e ne%t to each other& but when outsiders came and
attacked" e$eryone was attacking each other'
(arefully planned communal $iolence
)ut baldly" a simple altercation between two local groups" a *uddhist monk with his dri$er and
a few !uslim youths" spiraled out of control due to carefully strategised tensions which had
been simmering long before The catalyst for the communal $iolence in Aluthgama and
*eruwala soon after this minor altercation was an unabashedly racist speech spewed by the
**S's +alagoda-atte +nanasara Thero on Sunday
,epeatedly raising his arm in militant gestures and pushing yellow robes which were falling off
his shoulders in a sight that any genuine *uddhist would ha$e repudiated in shuddering
distaste" he urged the annihilation of #!arakkalayos' -!uslims. in Sri Lanka" e%horting that the
Sinhalese should not stay silent anymore but collecti$ely organi/e against !uslims
Sinhala and !uslim factions clashed thereafter while the police and the Special Task 0orce
-ST0. stayed silent This has been affirmed not only by !uslim $ictims but also opposition
members of parliament" one of whom had got personally attacked while trying to help !uslim
women and children escape 1hat shame is this2
1hy is the **S permitted to be at large2
Amidst the chaos" there are a few clear truths that can be e%tracted 0irst and foremost" this
go$ernment's promises of action to be taken against the perpetrators are scarcely to be
belie$ed !ahinda ,a3apaksa's twitter message and his meeting up with $ictims and
community leaders after return to Sri Lanka were punctuated by an undertaking that the
instigators would be dealt with 0ew ha$e indeed been arrested" including !uslims accused of
rising up against the Sinhalese
*ut the **S remains at large" free to engage in their repulsi$e politics of race hatred After
months of cowering under **S death threats" the moderate !ahiyangana monk 4en 1atareka
Thero was found bound" gagged and badly assaulted on Thursday ,eportedly his police
security had been withdrawn a month ago 4en 1atareka Thero had complained against the
**S" most recently after a press conference in a (olombo hotel was broken up by the **S
These complaints ha$e been to no a$ail
That go$ernment protection is afforded to the **S is a reasonable presumption therefore
4ideo recordings and indi$idual testimonies afford sufficient reason for arrests *ut there is a
magic $eil drawn o$er associated political party ideologues of the **S These ideologues
protest $ehemently now that they had nothing to do with the Aluthgama $iolence These
incredulous denials should be treated with suitable contempt
Silence of law enforcement agencies
Second" we return to the culpability of Sri Lanka's law enforcement agencies as an underlying
point to this criti5ue 6n Tuesday" mainstream newspapers which had earlier marginali/ed
reports of the communal $iolence while the social media went abla/e" featured reports of the
ST0 protecting the town of Aluthgama in the #aftermath' of the $iolence The 5uestion is as to
why such protection was not manifested #during' and not only in the #aftermath' of the riots2
1hy was the **S allowed to hold a public meeting in Aluthgama during a tense time2 1hy
was this monumentally racist Thero" whose $ery claim to a religious title comes as an affront to
the Sangha" permitted to speak publicly2
The 7nspector +eneral of )olice -7+). e%plained lamely that a stay order was not obtained
because they #hoped' that good sense would pre$ail Apparently these optimistic presumptions
were discarded soon after the Aluthgama riots when the police obtained a stay order against a
similar rally being organi/ed by a supposedly **S affiliated group in !awanella The **S
itself" in the precise traditions of barefaced lying by Sri Lanka's politicians in this
8hammadweepa" -land of the *uddha 8hamma." stoutly denied that it had links to this
particular group
(ommonalities of communal $iolence
1e are grie$ously familiar with the commonalities of communal $iolence in this country
9nsubstantiated rumors" agent pro$ocateurs and the inaction of law enforcement agencies are
general features :$en after decades of $iolence which tore us asunder and blackened Sri
Lanka's name across the world" this go$ernment cynically allowed and e$en encouraged the
breeding of religious racist groups to gather strength post-war This is not to say that the fault
lies purely with e%tremists who scream hatred while wrapping *uddhist robes around them or
indeed to deny that 7slamic fundamentalism is on the rise 6n the contrary" the responsibility
for the rise of fundamentalists due to the unscrupulous use of religious e%tremism for pure
political moti$es is $ested with the ,a3apaksa go$ernment" none other
!uslim !inisters should be ashamed to profess continuing allegiance to this administration
The shedding of tears by the ;ustice !inister this week is a particularly ironic 3oke 7nstead of
typical pre$arications" resignations from ministerial positions must be immediately e$idenced
*ut gi$en the nature of politics" principled positions cannot be e%pected
And with the honourable e%ception of the Amarapura !ahanayake Thero" the silence of the
!ahanayakes of the *uddhist (hapters on the Aluhtgama $iolence is unsettling Apparently the
only matter to perturb the (hief 7ncumbent of the Asgiriya (hapter this week was the planned
holding of night races in <andy which he appealed publicly against Are the consciences of the
)relates yet to be awakened on these most disgraceful incidents2
A perilous new chapter unfolds
Aluthgama 2014 signals the start of a dangerous new chapter in post-war Sri Lanka This is not
an isolated incident The issue has become far more comple% for simplistic reactions to pre$ail
There is little doubt that emotions are inflamed on both sides of this fundamentalist di$ide and
more significant organisation will be e$idenced in the future
Sri Lanka needs a change in political leadership to break this destructi$e and to%ic cycle This
much is now beyond a shadow of a doubt