Extremists attempt to make Buddhism Sri Lanka's state religion

Colombo – Atmosphere is tense in the island nation of Sri Lanka as it was found that Buddhist extremists in Sri Lanka have drafted an amendment to the country’s constitution, changing the status of Buddhism from the ‘foremost’ religion to the State religion. One clause in the constitutional amendment would prohibit Buddhists from converting to another religion.

A fact finding team of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) obtained a draft copy of the so–called 18th Amendment, which has not yet been tabled, on a recent visit to Sri Lanka. While the amendment contains an article providing freedom for the practice of other religions, this is qualified by the requirement that they are practiced “in peace and harmony with Buddha Sasana [Buddhist teachings]”. Article 9.5 of the proposed amendment states explicitly: “To convert Buddhists into other forms of worship or to spread other forms of worship among the Buddhists is prohibited.”

CSW also heard fresh evidence of anti–Christian violence. Although the number of attacks on churches and Christians has decreased in recent months, it has not stopped. On September 17, for example, a pastor was attacked by a mob armed with oars in Kiribathagoda, 20 km north–east of Colombo. Mud was thrown at him, and he was told: “If you come back, we will kill you.” On August 20, the annual conference of the Four Square Gospel Church, with 1,400 participants, was attacked. A group threw five homemade bombs into the venue near Kandy, injuring one person. The bombs were made from firecrackers, which contained nails and pins. “We fear the future will be tough, tougher than in the early days,” Pastor Niranjan, Vice–President of the Four Square Gospel Church told the CSW team.

During the ten–day visit, CSW met representatives of all major Christian groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference, the National Christian Council (NCC) and the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), constitutional lawyers, media and a senior Government official. CSW also met Buddhist and Hindu groups, including the President of the Hindu Council, the Director of the Dharma Vijaya Foundation, and the founder of the Sihala Urumaya party, which became the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a party of Buddhist monks with nine seats in Parliament. As well as working on the constitutional amendment, the JHU is proposing the introduction of an anti–conversion law.

As part of its fact–finding, the team also visited a church in Kesbewa, a suburb of Colombo, which had been completely burned down in September 2003.

Evidence of anti–Christian propaganda was also presented to CSW. Inflammatory posters are displayed on street corners with slogans such as “Buddhists, Sinhalese, stand up and protect Buddhism for future generations”, and leaflets distributed with headlines such as “Buddhists wake up! Protect Buddhism from the Christian invaders!” Newspaper articles with distorted reports and provocative headlines are also regularly published, and one reporter told CSW that the media was generally not very balanced in its coverage of the issues. Some newspapers, she added, have promoted the Buddhist viewpoint and justified attacks on Christians.

CSW understands some of the grievances that Buddhists and Hindus have against Christians, and those concerns are shared by the major Christian groups.

Godfrey Yogarajah, General Secretary of the NCEASL, told CSW that the church in Sri Lanka had “made mistakes” in the past and sometimes behaved in ways that were “insensitive to the culture”. However, much of the evidence of allegations of “unethical” conversions is purely anecdotal, and often exaggerated. In its report, CSW reflects the concerns that Buddhists and Hindus have, urges Christians to adopt methods of mission which are more sensitive and respectful to the local culture and encourages Christian efforts to find non–legislative measures to address these concerns.

CSW firmly opposes anti–conversion laws and the proposed constitutional amendment as they directly contravene Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CSW also strongly condemns acts of violence against Christians.

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW is sensitive to the concerns of Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka, and we stand for the freedom of all people to practise the religion of their choice. We are pleased to have been able to hear first–hand the concerns of all the major faith groups and to be able to reflect those views in our report.”

“In the interests of religious liberty, however, we strongly oppose any move to restrict the freedom of Sri Lankans to change their religion, or to share their beliefs with others. We also condemn anti–Christian violence and hate propaganda, and urge Buddhists and Hindus to enter into dialogue with Christians to ensure religious freedom, respect and harmony for all.”