Sri Lanka faulty in approach to protecting religious freedom, says US report

Blemishes in Sri Lanka’s approach towards religious freedom have been pointed out in a US State Department report that lists various government decisions to provide Buddhism a “foremost place” among religions.

The Supreme Court in 2003 determined that the state was constitutionally required to protect only Buddhism, denying the fundamental right to other religions, said the report for the year 2016.  

“Non-Buddhist religious groups reported an increase in discriminatory restrictions imposed by local government officials on religious minorities. This included a requirement that evangelical Christian churches register places of worship although no law or regulation specifically requires such registration.”

“The government continued to permit the construction of Buddhist statues in non-Buddhist areas despite strong objections from members of the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian communities. And it had not yet prosecuted Buddhist monks involved in attacks against Muslims and Christians in 2014,” the report pointed out.

Listing the main events, the report said that the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) documented 85 incidents of attacks on churches, intimidation and violence against pastors and their congregations, and obstruction of worship services during the year compared to 87 such incidents in 2015.

The UK-based Minority Rights Group International or MRG, reported 60

Incidents involving hate speech, acts of discrimination, or attempts to desecrate or destroy Muslim religious buildings in the first half of the year.

Buddhist groups – including the Bodu Bala Sena or BBS, Ravana Balava, Sinhala Ravana, and the Sinhale Jathika Balamuluwa, which claims ownership of the Sinha-Le (Sinhala Blood) campaign, continued to promote the supremacy of the country’s ethnic Sinhalese Buddhist population and propagated views hostile to members of religious and ethnic minorities.

Govt restrictions

Sri Lanka’s parliament had limited the ability of minority groups to proselytise, basing its decision on the top court’s 2003 ruling which stated that the right to propagate a religion through proselytisation is not a fundamental right under the constitution.

On Sept 23 of 2016, the Court of Appeal reinforced the 2003 ruling that determined the state was constitutionally required to protect only Buddhism by dismissing an appeal by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which had sought police assistance in conducting investigations and criminal prosecutions in cases of attacks and harassment targeting its members.

The court also decided that Sri Lanka’s constitution did not guarantee the right to propagate religion, thus the police could not be compelled to investigate these incidents.

The law allows incorporation of minority religious organisations. But church leaders said they faced opposition from local authorities in land and property matters, but the Ministry of Christian Religious Affairs was of little help.

Evangelical Christian churches continued to report harassment by local government officials who have suspended worship activities, classifying them as ‘unauthorised gatherings’. Places of worship have also been shut down for not being registered with the government.

Buddhist temples in Hindu Areas

The construction of Buddhist shrines by Buddhist groups or the military have become contentious symbols of a “perceived Buddhist Sinhalese religious and cultural imperialism,” the report said, quoting civil society groups and politicians in the predominantly Tamil-Muslim northern and eastern provinces.

To politicians in the north, the Sri Lankan military has sometimes acted outside its official capacity to aid in the construction of these statues.

The official position

On Sept 12, President Maithripala Sirisena announced that 2017 would be dedicated to propagating a Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

In October, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated the leaders of all faiths and political parties in the country supported keeping the special protection accorded to Buddhism in the constitution.

Arrested and bailed

The authorities arrested the leaders of militant Buddhist and Muslim organisations in November for hate speech and threats of violence. On Nov 15, police arrested Dan Priyasad, the leader of the Savior of Sinhalese organisation, for publicly inciting hate speech against Muslims.

On Nov 16, police arrested Abdul Razik, secretary of the Muslim organisation Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamath (SLTJ) for “inciting religious disharmony” by speaking against other religions in an offensive manner during a protest on Nov 3.

But the courts released Razik on bail on Dec 9.

But cases against monks accused in the 2014 attacks on Muslims and Christians have progressed slowly. Muslim lawyers stated that 42 cases related to anti-Muslim riots in Aluthgama in 2014 remained pending at the end of the year.