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Inter-communal violence in Sri Lanka
3-21-2018
After Burma, the right wing Buddhist extremists, in the region have now turned their guns on Muslims in Sri Lanka. On March 3, the majority Sinhalese Buddhist went rampaging through the Muslim neighbourhoods in the capital City Colombo, and surrounding areas, mainly in Kandy and Ampara districts. The mob torched Muslim businesses, homes, and mosques. The mobs had absolute control while the police stood by silently, and watched. It took Sri Lankan government three days to call in the army, and declare nationwide state of emergency, on March 6. By then scores of Muslim businesses, homes and total of twenty four mosques were torched. Four of the mosques burned to the ground. According to New York Times, "Four mosques, 37 houses, 46 shops and 35 vehicles have been damaged in the attacks."
On March 7, The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued a statement, “Canada is deeply concerned by recent inter-communal violence in Sri Lanka, in which Muslims were targeted. Canada urges all sides to engage in inclusive dialogue and exercise restraint to ensure peace and stability. We call for an immediate end to hate and misinformation campaigns inciting sectarian violence." However, these are merely words - "Lip Service" - a routine issuance of statement in general by the current Liberal government. Similar to Canadian government's inaction, if not turning a blind eye to the recent genocide of Muslims in Burma. Prime Minister Trudeau, continues to ignore calls from Canadians from all walks of life to strip, Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi of honorary Canadian citizenship.
In short, it took Sri Lankan government three days to declare state of emergency, and the Canadian government, four days to issue a statement condemning the sectarian violence against Muslims in Sri Lanka, at the hand of right wing fanatic Buddhist monks.
Sri Lanka, an Island nation in Indian Ocean is a multi-ethnic hot pot that is divided along ethno-religious lines. Sinhalese Buddhist being the majority, have suppressed the rights of two of its largest minorities, the Tamils, mainly Hindus, and the Muslims - classified as Moors. The Sinhalese majority for decades have consistently engaged in an on-going war with the two minorities, accusing both groups for dividing the nation, or trying to separate from Sri Lanka. An unfounded fear, as both minorities, are spread throughout the country. Tamils mainly in the northern region, representing about ten percent of the population, in this nation of twenty one million, and Muslims located along the eastern and western coastlines, with smaller groups in the central region, representing eight percent of total population.
The history of Islam in Sri Lanka dates back to the 7th Century A.D. With the arrival of Arab traders. Islam began to flourish in Sri Lanka. The first people to profess the Islamic faith were Arab merchants and their native wives, whom they married after having them converted to Islam. By the 8th century A.D., Arab traders had controlled much of the trade on the Indian Ocean, including that of Sri Lanka. Many of them settled down on the island in large numbers, encouraging the spread of Islam.
Much of the blame for the division in this tiny island nations along ethno-religious lines rests on policies as well as past pogroms carried out by the Sinhalese Buddhists. A combination of myths, jealously, and propaganda levelled against the minorities by the majority continues to contribute to an on-going suppression of minority rights. For instance, the government refuses to recognise Sri Lankan Muslims as Muslims. On their official government documents and census, under religion, Muslims are classified as "Moors," and not as Muslims.
The rift is further inflamed by Sinhalese policies on education, with the segregation of schools on the basis of language and religion. Tamils study in Tamil medium schools, the Sinhalese in Sinhalese medium schools and Muslims in Muslim schools to learn Islamic values. So, in a way, the seeds of communal separatism are planted in childhood.
The Sinhalese in past have carried out similar pogroms of ethnic cleansing of Muslims, which dates back to 1915. The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots (also known as the anti-Muslim riots of 1913, or the 1915 Buddhist Mohammedan riots or the 1915 Ceylonese riots) was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of Ceylon between Sinhalese Buddhists and the Ceylon Moors and the brutal suppression of it by the British colonial authorities.
According to some official estimates, which must be taken as approximate, there were 25 murdered, 189 wounded, 4 incidents of rape associated with the riots. 4075 houses and boutiques looted, 250 houses and boutiques burned down, 17 mosques burnt and 86 mosques otherwise damaged. Other official figures place total of 116 people were killed, 63 by military and Police forces.
More recently, the 2014 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka were religious and ethnic riots in June 2014 in south-western Sri Lanka. Muslims and their property were attacked by Sinhalese Buddhists.
The current and 2014 anti-Muslim riots have been instigated by a Buddhist terrorist group, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and Ravana Balaya. Both groups are involved in spreading or perpetuating a myth that while their population growth is slowing, that of the minority community’s is increasing because they do not practise birth control, marry four times, and have a secret plan to make Sri Lanka a Muslim majority country. Fundamentalist Buddhist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena and the Ravana Balaya, which promote the concept of “Sri Lanka for Sinhalese Buddhists”, exploit and propagate these myths. It was belief in this myth that led Sinhalese Buddhists of Ampara to destroy Muslim businesses following a rumour that Muslim eateries were mixing some pill in their food to make their Sinhalese patrons impotent.
The Sri Lankan Muslim populations has been growing steadily, and gaining power. During 1970's and 1980's it was in the interests of Sinhalese Buddhist majority faced with Tamil separatism, fighting Tamil Tigers needed the Muslims to be on their side. Henceforth, Muslims traditionally business class not only flourished, they were accorded with high ranking government positions. This enabled the rise of wealthy and influential Muslim business and political class. However, this has also created jealousy among the Sinhalese Buddhists against Muslims.
Given the Sinhalese-Tamil divide, it was imperative for the Sri Lankan Muslims to establish their own Islamic political identity. Muslims who were already the elite business class coupled with political influence decided to create their own Muslim political identity. In late 1980's Sri Lankan Muslim Congress was established, led by ambitious, well-endowed leaders, Muslims of Sri Lanka became a forced to be reckoned with in an extreme communalised political environment.
The divisive policies of the past Sinhalese governments to suppress its two largest minorities have backfired, resulting in emerging political powers. In case of Muslims, who in past were thanks to wealthy businesses, and wielding business influences, have now become an extremely powerful business and political force which the Sinhalese view it as a threat to their powerful existence. Resulting in rise of Sinhalese nationalism, and fanatic terrorist groups such as BBS are capitalizing on the fear, perpetuating propaganda against Muslims, fueling the hatred, leading the mobs into destroying Muslims homes, businesses and places of worship in an evident attempt to demonstrate the power of the majority in this tiny nations. Trampling minority rights at every chance they can get to exploit the situation, leading mobs to kill, maim, injured, and rape Muslim women while the authorities silently stand by and watch.
The Canadian government has a role to play. The Canadian government must summon the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to make Canada's position clear, more than a mere lip service statement that Canada will not stand by silently as the minority rights in their nation is being trampled by the majority Sinhalese based on myths, jealousy, and propaganda perpetuated by fanatic Buddhist monks against the Muslims of Sri Lanka, resulting in government pogroms in silencing its Muslim populations by creating fears.
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