Riots pitting Buddhists against Muslims led to three deaths and 78 injured people on Sunday. The conflict began after Boda Bala Seda (Buddhist Power Force), conducted a protest march. Stores and homes, some owned by Muslims, were lit on fire from gas bombs while stones and debris were hurled between Muslim and Buddhist combatants. An increase of Buddhist nationalism has surfaced in recent years, led by the Bodu Bela Sena, and they’ve pledged to defend Buddhism.
It was reported that three mosques and several prayer houses were destroyed. Muslims and Buddhists fought face-to-face for hours before local authorities arrived. Sri Lanka Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem was disappointed in his government’s failure to act quickly.
“The law-and-order machinery completely failed,” he said. “For 72 hours, we begged the government to prevent this rally from taking place on Sunday for fear of riots (Bastians, nytimes.com).”
Emotions appear to have carried over from three days prior, when an alleged fight between four young Muslims and a Buddhist monk and his driver took place. That confrontation led to the protest, which sparked violence that left 78 injured and three dead.
Close to 75% of Sri Lanka’s population is Buddhist. Muslims come in at close to 10%. Buddhists have made no qualms about protecting their religion, and previous attacks by the Boda Bala Seda have gone unpunished. Soldiers have enforced a curfew and a ban for civilians from the roads and public places in hopes of quelling increasing animosity from recent attacks. Local authorities made preventing riots in Aluthgama and Beruwala, popular tourist destinations, a priority. Navi Pillay, the United Nations outgoing High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “I am very concerned this violence could spread to Muslim communities in other parts of the country (Hune, cnn.com).”
Photo: AFP
