Muslim fundamentalism and lessons to learn from events in Aluthgama.

It has been reported that a 31 year old Muslim PhD Student Nahid Almanea died of  16 stab wounds in Colchester, Essex, UK.  She was wearing a Muslim dress-an Abaya robe and a hijab scarf at the time.  Police has warned  the public not to go to isolated places  by themselves.  It is dangerous in Essex.

The incident has sent shock waves among Muslims in Britain. "This isn't the first attack on a Muslim student and certainly is not the last on a member of the Muslim community in the UK. We will naturally wait for all evidence to become clear.  However, If the attack turns out to be Islamophobic in nature because of her Muslim appearance, then it will correlate with the disturbing exponential increase in hate crimes against Muslims here in the UK." Omar Ali, the president of Fosis, told the Times.

UNHCR and the West high light Sinhala Muslim attacks in Sri Lanka where as number of  attacks against Muslims in the West go unreported. There is no reason to be unconcerned about this deterioration of human relations be it in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world. 

It is not surprising that it is the Muslims who are now under attach every where in the world.  It is not a phenomena that started with the 11 September Al Qaeda attacks in USA.  Could it be put to Muslim attempt to bring religious values into the public  with least respect to the sentiments of others.

A Muslim scarf  over the head may be of religious significance but why impose it in schools, and in public ?  Old religious customs should be adopted to evolving situations. But Muslims seem to have become more “religious” in recent times than they were ever before.  At least they did not exteriorise their religion before as they do it now. Sharia Law and halal was not an issue before, it is going back to the old fashioned religious worship, without taking into consideration that Muslims live with other Communities who have their own religious beliefs and customs.

When the Sinhala happen to be the majority any  situation involving physical attacks and death  amoung the minority the focus is immediately on the majority Community as responsible. The minority Community becomes the sympathised victim, and every one jumps to accuse the majority Community, without examining the causes that led to those situations. 

A  terrorist moment started by a group of Indian trained terrorist from the Tamil Community lasted thirty years without any foreign intervention to stop it, but when the majority Community did the best it could and eliminated terrorism the West rises up from nowhere to accuse the majority community for violation of human rights and war crimes.  The patriotism –the love of the country and the willingness to die for it, in the case of  the Sinhala  springs from Buddhism, where as the patriotism is secondary to those of other faiths.  Rome is the sacred city of the Catholics, the Muslims turn towards Mecca in their daily worship,  and Tamils look to India, demanding separatism.

Hence the West cannot understand why the Sinhala are so protective about Buddhism. Protecting Buddhism for the Sinhala  is protecting Sri Lanka.   In Sri Lanka Buddhism remains  a pristine sacred philosophy since its introduction 2300 years ago. There is no fear of it being contaminated from external forces like Islamism. The Islamic fundamentalism contaminates the age old Islamic faith of the Sri Lanka Muslims. 

It manifests in seemingly innocent ways, first by issuing  hallal certificates, establish Sharia law, and precipitate into Wahabism, Salafism, Takfir, Muslim brother hood, Tawheed Jihadis,Taliban, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram.  These are dangerous  manifestations of Islamic fundamentalism, uncomparable in the least to Bodu Bala Sena despite its use of strong language to denounce Muslim extremism. Bodu Bala Sena speaks out to defend not only the Buddhist Sri Lanka but  also for the welfare of all Communities who want Sri Lanka free from  terrorism and anti social religious fanatism.

Therefore our Sri Lanka Muslims should protect their belief system from these fundamentalist ideas eroding into it.  The inter communal relations have got deeply affected by these new trends in Islam.  The Muslims outside the Arabic Nations had a different Muslim culture, that allowed them for centuries to live in complete peace in villages side by side with those of  Sinhala Buddhists.  Why has it taken a different turn now ?  Should the Sinhala Buddhists  be  blamed for that  or is it the new Islamic views seeping into the Muslim Society in Sri Lanka from outside ?

These views that are coming from outside are not just  Islamic religious views, but sadly they are initiated with a  secret political motive.  Therefore those who blindly defend  religious extremism  amoung the Muslims in  Sri Lanka , are indirectly inviting what happened in Afghanistan, and then in America on the infamous 11 September. 

Therefore the Muslims in Sri Lanka before criticising  what they call the “Buddhist Extremism’” should  look into their own back yards where the problems really lie.

Rauf Hakeem the Muslim Minister of Sri Lanka is not an innocent Muslim who loves Allah and his Muslim Community. He is  not a man with an ambition to protect  the  religious faith of the Sri Lanka Muslims,  but out there promoting someone else’s political ambition for a global Muslim Nation.

Jehadists in Mali

 

Jehadists

The Arab States are promoting Muslim extremism like in Myanmar in support of  the Rohingya.  “We reported an article from Tunisian media in April 2013, that Qatar is funding 3,500 jihadist to travel to Myanmar (Burma) and slaughter Buddhists. Do you think this is only a reaction by muslims for the protective violence Myanmar has meeted on the Rohingya?Rohingya, by the way,  is synonym of alien Chittagonian separatists or jihadist Mujtahid. They are not some friendly little muslims who are victims of Buddhist violence. The Buddhist have described the Rohingya’s in the following terms: “They are not human. They are satanic”. That is indeed an apt description. ”

(http://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/arabs-send-more-terrorists-to-burma-to-create-an-islamic-state-many-attempts-have-been-made-to-send-jihadists-to-myanmar/)

The people of Sri Lanka has not forgotten the role Rauf Hakeem played during terrorism. Though he speaks of patriotism today he was willing to help the terrorist leader Prabhakaran divide Seri Lanka. He signed a MOU with Prabhakaran for a separate Muslim State in Sri Lanka if the terrorists were to form a Tamil Eelam. 

Rauf Hakeem Shaking hands with Terroris Prabhakaran after signing  an MoU with him before a terrorist flag.  What a hypocrite  ?

That is Rauf Hakeem who says today that he is fighting for the freedom of the Muslims, and accuses the Sri Lanka government for not punishing the Sinhala Buddhist Bikkhus who he accuses as responsible for the Aluthgama Sinhala –Muslim conflict.

Rauf Hakeem is the most unreliable Muslim Minister in the Government.  When Navi Pillai visited Sri Lanka Hakeem is said to have handed over to her a report against the Government, and  today it is reported that Rauf Hakeem had met the visiting UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco to explain to him the Aluthgama Beruwala incident without informing the government.

High level UN Officials visit Sri Lanka , but unfortunately the  UN System that was set up to free the world of  conflict situation that would lead to wars, is unable to take a balanced view of  situations arising in different countries with different Cultural backgrounds and find solutions, not to fulfil personal agendas or agendas of those countries that seek world power, but to ease communal tension and bring understanding between  parties for peaceful existence, and stop the interference of countries into the internal affairs of other countries.

Sri Lanka has a long history. Like all other nations in the world Sri Lanka also had its share of political upheavals, natural catastrophes and above all a  debilitating ruthless terrorism.  Through all that Sri Lanka was able to come out victorious, and provide the people peace and hope.

To-day for Sri Lanka, providence has given it a dynamic President who has been able to bring peace and prosperity to the country giving its people new hope. The President of Sri Lanka is a fearless warrior for the independence and peaceful existence of the country and its people without distinction.  He had traversed new paths, and brought Sri Lanka closer to other Nations, for the first time since Independence. He moves slowly but surely to give Sri Lanka a new face.  His antagonists are ready to criticise without getting anywhere near to give him credit for  his political acumen.

Those qualities have brought him the ire of the  Western forces duped by the Tamil diaspora an extension of the terrorism Sri Lanka had eliminated locally.  The West is now all out to steal that victory and the hope of  the people for a  better life, and thwart their aspiration.  They are rallying round Navi Pillai the UNCHR imputing blame and accusations to implicate the President  as a violator of human rights. 

While the West is preparing to accuse Sri Lanka for violation of human rights and war crimes over the elimination of terrorism five years ago, the Islamic terrorists in other parts of the world are continuing to doom the progress of developing countries  through barbaric forms of terror. The West drawing charge sheets against Sri Lanka is blind to the peril of different Muslim extremism that raises its ugly head like  Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabab of Kenya, Islamic Extremists in Somalia, Moro Islamic in Philipines, Islamic Extremism in Indonesia.

Abubakar Shekau  Boko Haram Leader

 

Young Nigerian School Girls taken as hostage by Boko Haram

The  Boda Bala Sena may seem an anti Muslim Organisation.  But  Budu Bala Sena raises its voice as a   warning of what would happen if we the Sri Lankans- the Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims do not pay attention to the danger of infiltration of Muslim Fundamentalism, Wahabism, Jihad etc., Sri Lanka too would  end up being in the hands of Muslim extremism which has nothing to do with the religion of the Muslims in Sri Lanka.

What happened in Aluthgama is sad but it should  open our eyes to dangers seeping into our Muslim Community, which would result in further disintegration of Communities.   It is best that the UN and the West keep away from Sri Lanka allowing Sri Lanka to sort out its problems and find solutions within in a calm atmosphere in a healthy dialogue between the parties to the conflict. 

Immediately after the Aluthgama Beruwala  incident American Emabassy issued a stament, . “The U.S.  Embassy condemns the violence that has spread over the weekend in Aluthgama and Beruwela. We urge the government to ensure that order is preserved and the lives of all citizens, places of worship, and property are protected.   We urge the authorities to investigate these attacks and bring those responsible to justice. We also urge all sides to refrain from violence, exercise restraint, and respect the rule of law. “

American Emabassy in Sri Lanka issuing such  orders to Sri Lanka Government, is acting irresponsibly.  A situation has to be evaluated and those responsible  identified  before the government could find  a satisfactory solution without allowing the incident to get out of hand making it difficult to  unite the Communities despite the sad events . 

Therefore, it is far better that the uninformed outsiders do not interfere to make it difficult for the government to find internal solutions. That is a democratic principle which the West should respect.

Casinos, Tourism, and the Buddhist Monks.

Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardhana and James Parker

So much is being said about Casinos these days that one begins to wander whether Casinos are the only thing that will mar the peace and serenity of the well disciplined, very Buddhist Sri Lanka, where every thing is being happening according to the teachings of the Buddha.  

One is made to come to that conclusion as it is the very Buddhist JHU and Wimal Weerawansa that seem to be anxious about the danger to Buddhist morals by the introduction of Casinos.  Casinos spell gambling , games of chance. But in case of a Buddhist it is not forbidden in the five  precepts, though it is against a right livelihood in  the noble eight fold path.

If Casinos are condemned for making it another marketable addition to make Sri Lanka  attractive to tourists as a place for pleasure and entertainment. Why only Casinos ? Nobody seems to complain that putting  all cards for economic development and financial stability on tourism, is by itself an issue that needs rethinking as it is tourism that keeps increasing entertainment projects, and with them  that come all evil, such as sex, drugs, crimes and gambling. The fear perhaps is because this reminds of pre Castro Cuba which was a gambling den controlled by the American Mafia.

But unfortunately tourism is an  all  important item for Sri Lanka’s economic growth as  industries and even agriculture as potential foreign exchange earners are limited and slow in development. Hence tourism and foreign  employment are the primary foreign exchange earning industries in Sri Lanka.

Monte Carlo Casino

There are three types of Casinos.  The Casinos open to the public at large, Casinos in Hotels which are open to the clients of the Hotels, and on line Casinos which are open to any one using computers with internet connection.  The Casinos in Hotels cater for the tourists for whom the Hotel industry is being developed. 

Is James Parker’s 400 million Dollar  Casino complex open to any one or just to tourists  and others who are clients of the Hotels ?  In the news item it only says , “ once constructed, the resort will have  450 rooms , restaurants and gambling spaces.”  It seems to be restricted to the clients of the Hotel and restaurant complex.

Casino inside a Hotel

If it is open only to clients of the hotels and not to any Dick, Tom and Harry, that would not affect the morality of the Buddhists.  If that factor is not considered, those who manifest against Casinos should then manifest against tourism itself, which would be like biting the hand that feeds you. If it is a case of ordinary Citizens of Sri Lanka getting ruined playing in James Parker’s casinos, then we will also  have to consider blocking  internet online  Casinos.

Then why is all this furore about.  If its only to preserve the sanctity of the Buddhist Sri Lanka, the priests who have taken to roads to protest against Casinos should rethink what they the Buddhist monks as the protectors of the Buddha Sasana should do to stop the declining morality of the Buddhist laity without seeking to make Sri Lanka commit  economic suicide by not developing  the country to attract foreigners as a place for entertainment and thus get the much needed foreign exchange for development projects. 

The Monks may for instance demand that the tourist industry should  give foreign tourist a Sri Lanka style vacation with attractions such  as  sight seeing tours, restful beaches, enjoy Sri Lankan peace and serenity by visiting Buddhist and other religious places of worship, provide them with entertainment respecting Sri Lanka’s cultural values. Provide the tourists with Sri Lankan fruit juices, or Sri Lankan beer instead of  other alcoholic drinks such as wines that are available in plenty in their own home countries. The tourists love health resorts, therefore encourage opening Ayurvedic health centres and bath spas etc.

But yet that is not the role of the Buddhist monks, there are the laymen qualified to make tourism in Sri Lanka a different experience for foreign tourists.  But  those who are in charge of developing tourism in Sri Lanka are trying to make tourist entertainment in Sri Lanka an overbearing  imitation of  what it is  in  the countries from where the tourists  come. 

There are night racing.  Normally car racing are in automobile producing countries to compete with different marks of automobiles  produced by different producers.  There are very few  car racing courses outside  automobile producing countries.  Sri Lanka should not go all out to make car racing a  Sri Lankan experience. Even Golf links are not a profitable venture.  There is even a proposal to set ice rinks and even making an artificial island for a racecourse.  There is also a proposal to invest on a cable car service to Adma’s Peak.  Where is this madness going to end ?

These are excessive considering that while main roads, bridges and flyovers have been constructed  certainly for the greater benefit of the country, the village roads have been neglected. The transport board has no suitable small  buses to ply on small village roads and roads linking towns in the interior of Sri Lanka.  The big Leyland buses plying on village roads not only damage the roads, but also become a dangerous nuisance to villagers who have to take the same roads to move from one place to another.

Therefore, Casinos within Hotels are not that much of a danger to the life of the people of Sri Lanka if they are properly controlled.  But the role of the monks is to teach the people to live a Buddhist way of life without seeking  activities that is not in keeping with their effort to follow the noble eightfold path to purity and emancipation from the bonds of Samsara. 

The Buddhist laymen should be taught to keep away from vice, as  vice by itself cannot be removed. During the life time of the Buddha, pigs were slaughtered outside the Jetawanaramaya.  The Buddha did not ask the King to stop the butchers from killing pigs, but taught the people why it is wrong to eat the meat of slaughtered animals.  In the discourses of the Buddha we note that there had been liquor addicts. But the Buddha taught the monks to be an example for others, and  required lay Buddhists to refrain from taking intoxicating drinks.

It is an indisciplined mind that seeks out vice, therefore the duty of the Buddhist monk is not to manifest on public roads to make people good Buddhists, but to teach them what is good and what is bad in their temples by making the temple a place of sanctity where the monks practice meditation, and conduct retreats or meditation sessions to the people. The monks should make their temple where people come not only to worship, but also to seek  solace and advice.

While our learned Buddhist Monks who have donned the yellow robes, are dabbling in matters that are outside their vocation as monks, some demand driving licences, and employment in the public administration,  others get into politics even seeking to be candidates for the Presidential elections, it was announced that 450 Buddhist temples are to be closed for lack of Buddhist Monks.

Buddhist culture is entwined with the temple and the people.  If the temple gets away from the people or the people gets away from the temple it would be to the disadvantage of the existence of the Buddha Sasana.  Therefore the Buddhist monk should cultivate closer contact with the people to be their guide and protector.  Today what we see is that a greater number of  Buddhist Monks  is preoccupied with matters that are best left for the laity, becoming thus laymen in yellow robes.

Buddhism had a smooth uninterrupted  existence in Sri Lanka for 2300 years since Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by Venerable Mahinda Thera.  Therefore , Buddha Sasana as much as the Sinhala Buddhists have to be protected  from religions which do not  teach their followers ways to get away from suffering, but make use of  them to assure their existence,  are spreading like weeds. 

Therefore, the Buddhist Monks associating to fight against these enemies as protectors of the Buddha Sasana cannot be condemned.  But they should not be divided as Budu Bala Sena, Sihala Ravaya, and Ravana Balakaya, but  should form into one large Association. They should conduct themselves as the  disciples of the Great teacher the  Buddha, disciplined in their thoughts, words and actions according to the Dhamma.

Protecting the Buddha Sasana is a greater issue on which the Buddhist monks should take an active interest, leaving aside manifesting against setting up Casinos, abolition of the Executive Presidency , or presenting themselves as common candidates for Presidential elections.

Modi Euphoria in Sri Lanka

When N Modi was elected the new Prime Minsiter of India, there was a pandemonium amoung the writers in e-mail forums and Sri Lanka media.  It was as if it was the appearance in India of a  man  equal to that of King Asoka.

No doubt it was the end of Nehru era.  But not an occasion for euphoria.   Little by little we come to realise that though  things are not the same,  the actors in India who manipulated the Sonia-Manmohan Singh Indian Central government to make  Sri Lanka which eliminated  a most ruthless and a well financed, well equipped terrorism a simple violator of human rights a war criminal, are back at work.

While Narendra Modi became the acclaimed Prime Minister of India, Jayalalitha became the acclaimed Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. Jayalalitha has begun her hate campaign against Sri Lanka and to what extent she will be able to influence Narendra Modi to be at her beck and call for fear of a break away of TamilNadu from greater India is yet to be seen.

However, Narendra Modi’s first contact with the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse had been to ask him to give the Tamil people of Sri Lanka their aspirations for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka. This, immediate reaction of Prime Minister Modi on meeting the President of Sri Lanka was the indication of the falsity of the Modi euphoria.

It should have put into the block heads of Sri Lankans in no uncertain terms that  though India has changed its political leadership the bureaucratic state behind the state functions unabated and that Narendra Modi has already been put in the designated path of administration  making him demand the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse  for an early and full implementation of the 13^th Amendment  and plus.

Narendra Modi has already been put into an administrative “box” as far as Sri Lanka is concerned and his thinking  would be limited to what his administration may “feed” him.

 

Varanasi Aarti which Narendra Modi attended at the Banks of River Ganga on 11 May,2014

Gujarat from where Nrendra Modi comes  has strong connection with Buddhism, and numerous ruins of ancient monasteries and caves with signs of their occupation by  Buddhist monks are evidence of the presence of Buddhisms.  That alone does not make Narendra Modi a Buddhist and willing to uphold Buddhism against his Hindu belief.  That would therefore not be a reason for him to have greater sympathy towards the cause of  Buddhist Sri Lanka.

Narendra Modi is more acceptable a leader as far as Sri Lanka’s cultural background  is concerned, as Gandhis’ were highly westernised and merely paid lip service to Buddhism.  Late Jawaharlal Nehru was described as a Hindu agnostic and about religion he had said,

“The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always it seemed to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry, superstition, exploitation and the preservation of vested interests. Nehru considered that his afterlife was not in some mystical heaven or reincarnation but in the practical achievements of a life lived fully with and for his fellow human beings: “...Nor am I greatly interested in life after death. I find the problems of this life sufficiently absorbing to fill my mind,” he wrote.

Hence Modi is a more acceptable Indian to Buddhists.  He started the day he was to take his oath as the Prime Minister of India not with a Hindu Pooja but  by a visit to Raj Ghat the mausoleum of late Gandhiji.  He paid respect to a picture of Gandhi in his office.  Therefore politically Sri Lanka cannot expect special treatment because of Modi’s state connection with the ancient ruins of Buddhist presence.

It is therefore important  for Sri Lanka to take actions independently as a Sovereign State  whether such action is acceptable or not to India.  Politically India my not change its present relations with Sri Lanka which it had with India under Manmohan Singh  regime.

It is already late for Sri Lanka to await evolution of  attitudinal changes amoung the Indian politicians. Sri Lanka should have removed the 13 Amendment which serves no purpose along with the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces.  Five years after the elimination of terrorism Sri Lanka is still burdened with the obnoxious 13 Amendment. Some one in the governing System in Sri Lanka should think of changing the present Provincial Council system, by substituting it with a  more people friendly system beginning the political power development from village level- the ancient Gamsabha System.

Dayan Jayatillekes, Vasudeva Nanayakkaras, Dew Gunasekara and the rest have nothing to propose hanging onto  the tail of end of the 13 Amendment written and presented by Indian bureaucrats and imposed on us by the Indian Government of late Rajiv Gandhi.  It is a shame for the Sri Lanka politicians and intellectuals, who seem to have gone  bankrupt of progressive political ideas to be adopted for the post terrorist-evolution of Sri Lanka.

All the difficulties with regard to reconciliation of communities come from this absurd Amendment 13 to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka is not short of  Sinhala pandits who want to do away with the executive Presidency but none to propose a system without the 13 Amendment.  Ranil Wickramasinghe who has just returned after learning how to dump governments from MIT is only attacking the Rajapakse family Regime without proposing an alternative to it.  Ranil Wickramasinghe is a specialist in appointing Committees, and now proposing  writing new constitutions.

The former Commander of the Armed Forces Sarath Fonseka went to America, and came back a rabid politician without even learning to speak the respectable language of a politician calling his adversaries  by anima names. Ranil Wickramasinghe after his  month’s training in MIT  seems to have learnt that  personal attacks  of the Rajapakse Regime,  which he now compares to  a loose tooth about to fall, could bring about the expected fall of the Regime. He insists that his supporters should concentrate only on toppling the Rajapakse Regime.

That means neither the leader Ranil Wickrmasinghe nor its Party has put forward a practical means for a regime change.  Modi euphoria has not come to UNP as they depend more on the West for a regime change in Sri Lanka rather than  through a possible Indian intervention. 

Ranil Wickramasinghe and UNP were more close to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh  whose  connection with America, UNP expected more appropriate to destabilise the Rajapakse regime.  Hence election of Modi whose relations with America cannot still be evaluated, was no reason for euphoria in the UNP camp.

USA is moving more and more towards being a Global Dictatorship.

signing of the Constitution of the USA

In Ukraine America supports the extreme right wing  neo-nazi groups. It wanted to bomb Syria and put an end to the conflict which USA and  its allies themselves  aggravated by arming those rebel against Bashar Al Assad Government, but it was the good sense of Russia  that averted a Syrian massacre and raising Damascus to rubble as they did Libya using the  NATO Forces.

America is egocentric.  It seeks its own safety, its own leadership in the world and in that ambition it is least concerned about other developing nations and their people.  Its concern fro the wellbeing of other people of other nations is a false pretence. What does it care about the Tamil people of Sri Lanka other than to destabilise the country and divide it, as it did to separate Kosovo from Serbia ?

United Nations was set up to avoid wars between countries and solve their problems in dialogue.  But America today has along with its Western allies set up a second force to work outside the UN System.  

USA has its Council on Foreign Relations. “ It convenes meetings at which government officials, global leaders and prominent members of the foreign policy community discuss major international issues. Its think tank, the David Rockefeller Studies Program, is composed of about fifty adjunct and full-time scholars, as well as ten in-residence recipients of year-long fellowships, who cover the major regions and significant issues shaping today's international agenda. These scholars contribute to the foreign policy debate by making recommendations to the presidential administration, testifying before Congress, serving as a resource to the diplomatic community, interacting with the media, authoring books, reports, articles, and op-eds on foreign policy issues…..”

There is also a USA Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and its subcommittees.  The US State Department submits reports on foreign Countries to the Senate Committee which decides on  USA’s relations with other countries.  These are all governments within government interfering  into the internal affairs of  Sovereign States of  developing Nations.  UNO has no control over these Committees but they could over ride the decisions of the UN Security Council by misrepresentations, and false information as it happened in the War against Iraq, and NATO bombardment of Libya and the murder of the Libyan Leader.

The Chairman of the US Senate Committee Robert Menendez has recently written about the concerns of the US Senate Committee on Sri Lanka to  Navi Pillai the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is  a person biased towards the Tamils and therefore unable to take  independent decisions on problems in Sri Lanka concerned with the Tamil Community. 

Senator Menendez writes, “ that the Committee is concerned  with the deteriorating  environment for the democratic process and human rights in Sri Lanka. Until the Sri Lankan Government engages in genuine reconciliation that serves to strengthen the long term stability of the country, I will support international effort to promote accountability, political reconciliation and reform. Over the past year, this committee has noted with concern the deteriorating environment for the democratic process and human rights in Sri Lanka. While this is particularly acute in the north, there are also disturbing reports of an increasingly authoritarian approach across the South and East.”

These are interferences into the internal affairs of a sovereign state without knowing the ground realities dependent solely on bureaucratic reports made without understanding  a countries cultural and historical sentiments.  These statements only make reconciliation difficult as the Communities concerned instead of discussing and coming to an understanding amoung themselves, are distracted by the proposals suggested and anxieties expressed by foreign State Committees without a clear understanding of the situation,  and  seek alternative solutions.

USA and even the UN Commissioner of Human Rights whose interest is divided on issues concerning the Communities in Sri Lanka  should leave Sri Lanka to solve its own problems.  No USA Senate Committee came to help Sri Lanka during the thirty long  years of its suffering under terrorism, therefore they are now  a barrier and make the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka still more difficult.

In the Meantime the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs  Nisha Desai Biswal had said, " While we are disappointed that the government has failed over the past four years to take adequate and meaningful steps to support accountability and reconciliation, the United States is committed to working with the people and the government of Sri Lanka to strengthen its democracy and to help the country move towards a more durable peace."

The problem in Sri Lanka needs no advice from USA or UN,  it can settle its own problem if Sri Lanka is left alone.   There is a more vibrant democracy in Sri Lanka, and it is USA itself which has to put its own house in Order.   Unfortunately USA had not been a constructive influence to developing Nations as it is more often a destructive and a destabilising force.  There is no developing  country in the world that USA had helped to develop and become independent.  USA and its allies interferes into the developing countries to fortify their own  political strategic interests. 

It is China and Russia that have come forward to help developing nations without interfering in to the governments or destabilising communities within the countries.  It is China and Russia who could “strengthen Sri Lanka’s democracy and help the country move towards a more durable peace.”, and not USA or its Western Allies.

KKK

USA which speaks for the Tamil people of Sri Lanka should know that the Tamils are not a hate group, nor are the Sinhala.  They are each a part and parcel of the larger Sri Lankan people. The Tamil people of Sri Lanka are being manipulated by the Tamils racist politicians.  There are no hate groups in Sri Lanka.

On the contrary in USA there are more than 1000 hate groups , such as the White Aryan Resistance led by Tom Metzger.  There are neo-Nazy groups, such as the Supreme Nazi Alliance. There are villages exclusively for the whites.  Leonardo Blair of Christian Post reports, “More than 1,000 active hate groups are operating across America and California has more of them than any other state, according to a controversial list produced by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.

From church groups opposing homosexuality, to groups that promote racial superiority, the SPLC's hate map has identified and included 1,007 organizations on their hate list based on beliefs or practices they conclude "attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

There are from time to time psychologically ill  Americans who shoots into crowds or gun down children in schools.  This is the USA that is propounding democracy and peace in the world.


It is time that US State Department stops this masquerade playing the role of  an exemplary state of morality, peace and democracy, and allow developing nations to find  peace, security, and democracy, in their own way, at their own pace.

Bodu Bala Sena

Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3^rd century  BCE.  Thereafter  Sri Lanka became an exclusive Buddhist country.  Later  Sri Lanka was subject to attacks first by the South Indian Tamil marauders, who may have plundered and ransacked Buddhist Temples and monasteries.  Later in 205 BCE a Chola Prince  Elara  set up a Kingdom in Anuradhapura.  During which period   Hindu  Kovils were built in once exclusive Buddhist land.  King Dutugamunu defeated King Elara in battle and re-established the Sinhala Kingdom in Rajarata in 261BCE. 

It marked a great revival of Buddhism bringing it back to the glory it was before  the foreign invaders. The Buddhists  monks are said to have accompanied the armies of King Dutugemunu, while at least one is said to have disrobed to take part in the battle against Elara.  The monks were of course there to provide protection to the King and the army chanting prayers and giving them moral strength to fight the enemy and bring back the lost  prestige of Buddhism under the Hindu ruler

After that Buddhism flourished in Sri Lanka until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505. Royal seat of power was then in Sitawaka, with a separate Kingdom in Kandy, and the power struggle within the Royal family helped the Portuguese to entrench them-selves in Sri Lanka.  After the death of Mayadunne his son Rajasinghe I became the King of Sitawake and fought against the Portuguese and defeated them in many battles. Though Rajasingha was acclaimed as a brave  King for his victories over the Portuguese armies, he later became an enemy of Buddhism. 

His reign was a sad period in the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.  The King Rajasinghe was converted to Hinduism and appointed a Hindu as his Chief adviser.  Many Buddhist Monasteries were raised to ground and land handed over to Hindu Kovils.  The Buddhist monks were put to death, and the Buddhist Sacred books were kept hidden in the hill country.  Buddhism was entrusted to lay people dressed in white called “ganninanse”.  They played the role of the Buddhist monks.

It was King Kithsiri Rajasinghe who revived Buddhism from scratch.  Advised  by the  great Buddhist monk Venerable Welvitiye Saranamkara maha thero , the king  invited 18 monks from Siam-now Thailand to re-introducing higher ordination of Buddhist Monks in the Thailand tradition. This was the beginning of the Siam Nikaya.  

The Portuguese came to Sri Lanka with two objectives,  one was  to guarantee its spice trade and the other the conversion of heathens to Catholicism.  The Portuguese and then the Dutch that followed them, and the British that came last, all had the intension of luring the  natives away from their precious heritage of  Buddhism, introducing them  to their faith of an invisible god, explaining  his invisibility  in stories of miracles he had performed such as making the blind see, the paralyzed walk or even the dead rise from the tomb. They assured them the  love of the god that will  come to them  in “ believing without  seeing or asking questions.”

The God of the Bible had no love for others, but only for his chosen people the Israelites.  Therefore the West (initiated by the Greek writers)  burrowed the God of Israel providing him with a son. The most convincing story to help the conquerors to convert the non-believers was the narration of  the myth of a immaculate conception that gave the God a son to take on himself  the sins of the people.  Of course they also tempted the natives to accept their religion with “education in Missionary schools” and providing them jobs in their colonial administrations, as they are doing now for the conversion of  poor villagers in some parts of Sri Lanka, offering them money and gifts.

The Portuguese had weakened the Sitawaka Kings, making it easy for them to convert the members of Royal families to Catholicism.  Don Joao was a Sinhala Prince, who later fled to Portugal and  became a Priest. 

The Portuguese wanted King Karalliadde Bandara’s daughter Princess Kusumadevi  baptised as Dona Catarina  to be placed on the throne of Kandy. But Konappu Bandara defeated the Portuguese, married Dona Catarina and was crowned as King Vimaladharmasooriya I of  Kandy.

This period saw the utter brutality of the Portuguese who set fire to the city and killed cows in Buddhist temples.  Many Catholic Churches were built and there was none to protect Buddhism and the Buddhists. 

The Buddhist monks who made an effort to make the people aware of the threat to Buddhism and rouse them to rebel against the Portuguese were hunted down and thirty of the them were hanged, thus discouraging any future uprising of the people against the Portuguese.  King of the Kingdom of Kandy Vimaladharmasuriya despite the bitter lessons learnt during the Portuguese occupation seemed  to have had no alternative other than invite the Dutch in 1638 to help him defeat the Portuguese.

But the Dutch making use of the kindly relations with the King, established Missionary Schools and spread Christianity.  It was during this period that Christianity built a strong hold of the country.

The rule of Sri Lanka by the British beginning from 1815 was a disaster for Buddhism, equal to what it was under the Portuguese.  It was again the Buddhists monks who took the fore front to rebel against the British rule. Venerable Wariyapola Srisumangala Anunayaka Thero of the  Asgiriya Chapter pulled down the English flag and re-hoisted the lion flag of Sinhala in defiance of the British. 

He later hid the  Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha lest it would fall into the hands of the British.   The British caught him, and convicted him for high treason.  The rebellions against the British by the Sinhala leaders were carried out with the blessings of the Buddhist monks.  The Tamils and the Muslims were insignificant in numbers, but  the British feared  opposition by the Majority Sinhala Buddhists, and therefore appointed Tamils and Muslims to  official positions in their colonial administration. 

In Wellassa the British  appointed  a Muslim as a Muhandiram, and treated the Sinhala using the motto “ famine, sword and fire”, which caused the rebellion in 1817.  It  was quelled  by the British shooting the leaders on the spot and burning villages, and killing males over 18 years to discourage future Sinhala uprisings.  A Buddhist monk Venerable Kudahapola Therunnanse was shot dead at Bogambara in his robes to insult Buddhism, and end further rebellions.

At each of these periods when Buddhism  or the country was under threat, there were those great Buddhist leaders  who came forward advised by the Buddhist monks to protect Buddhism and bring it back to the fore front of the lives of the Sinhala people. 

Buddhism is a far greater  “religion”  than the monotheistic religions. It had been then the  bête noir  of the conquerors, as it is  today for those monotheistic faiths  such as Islam , and Christianity in Sri Lanka.  Buddhism did not teach to pray to an invisible god to get favours done for them.  Buddhism is a pragmatic “religion”  which emphasised  that it is within oneself that one should  find solutions to problems, and not through prayers to a creator God.

Violation of Human Rights with which the West is trying to charge Sri Lanka is an artificial arm of the  West to destabilise and subjugate developing Nations.  The Buddhists of Sri Lanka respect not only human life,  but also that of all forms of living beings, hence the Sinhala people of Sri Lanka  is the last to  violate human rights, in real life or in war.

There is unfortunately an increase of violence and criminality in Sri Lanka today which cannot in any way be related to the Buddhist teachings they follow, but it is largely due to the Western influence which has distorted their life style with excessive interest in wealth,  drug dealings, sex, and intoxication. 

The British got down different Christian Missionaries  to Sri Lanka.  They built Schools for Boys,   Convents for Girls, and commenced  Christianization of  Sri Lanka. They   sent Christian Priests out into villages to  distribute books and pamphlets that criticised and ridiculed Buddhism, and praised Christianity. 

In that situation when the Buddha Sasana was in peril a young novice Buddhist Priest Venerable Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thero  challenged the Christian Missionaries for an open debate, which resulted in  three debates in 1873,  the last of which was held in Panadura.

“The Panadura controversy, which lasted for a week, was the most important of them all. It was the culmination of his efforts and it led to a Buddhist reawakening. The controversy was to take place in the presence of leading Sinhalese Christians and Buddhists. Rules were laid down so that the meeting could be held in a fair manner. The leading English newspaper of the time, The Ceylon Times, sent a special representative to report the proceedings. A complete report of all the speeches corrected by the speakers themselves was published in English day by day.

The controversy ended with victory for the Buddhists. The Buddhist orator not only replied effectively to the fallacies of the Christian speakers, but also enlightened them on the principles and tenets of the Buddhist doctrine. When the Christians retired from the debate defeated, the Buddhists were overjoyed. Festivities were held in every temple to mark their triumph and the effigy of Gunaananda Thera was carried in procession in every village.” (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/perera/wheel100.html)

It is therefore very clearly seen that right along in the history of Sri Lanka when ever there was a threat to the Buddha Sasana, it was the Buddhist Monk who took the leading role as  the protector of the Buddha Sasana and the Buddhist people.   Therefore, one should not be surprised when the Buddhist monks raise their voice while the Buddhist laymen lie in lethargy to speak out  against those who are a threat to the existence of  Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

The first time the Muslims came against the Sinhala Buddhists was in  1915, when they opposed a Buddhist procession going past their Mosque which they claimed  disturbed their prayer sessions.  The Muslims  were in fact provoking even at that time the  Sinhala Buddhist sentiments relying on the special treatment they received from the British Colonial rulers, by haphazard  construction of Mosques in  Kandy and Gampola areas. 

Sir Robert Charmers was the Governor at the time and  he took the opportunity to send the British forces to come hard on the Sinhala Buddhists, which came under criticism to the extent that  the British government was forced to recall the Governor and replace him with Sir John Anderson, who settled the issue  ordering that the Buddhist Procession “ Esala Perahera” should not be interfered with restrictions.

Thereafter, the Sinhala- Muslims relations existed peacefully more due to the patience of the Sinhala Buddhists.  The Muslims continued building their mosques every where without restrictions, or even without permission from neighbours or the government, and started using loudspeakers for  Muslim call to prayers-the Adhan by the Muezzin five times a day beginning from early in the morning without any concern for the followers of other religions. 

Nonetheless, the good relations between the Communities continued  to a certain  extent until after the end of Terrorism.  The old Muslim leaders have given place to  a new set of Muslims  who influenced by the Saudi Arabian Muslim extremism, have become vociferously active going beyond all respectful norms establishing an Islamic influence in the country and society introducing halal, Sharia Law, breaking the peace and  goodwill that existed  between the Communities. 

Added to this is the Muslim Minsters of the Government such as Rishad Badiudeen, and Rauf Hakeem who are aggravating the rift between the Sinhala and Muslim people. Rishad Bathiudeen  has taken the law into his  own hands to establish unauthorised Muslim settlements claiming the lands to be their ancestral homes.  If this is not stopped now Sri Lanka would face  another , political and a social upheaval as it had been before with the Tamil terrorism.

After the end of the thirty year of terrorism in which Sri Lanka saw many Buddhist monks killed, temples and  ancient Buddhist ruins destroyed, and the most Sacred Buddhist Temple of the Tooth bombed, it appears that  the path has been  cleared for the Muslims in Sri Lanka to establish themselves as a political force and  attack Buddhism, its places of worship, land grab under the theme of “ancestral homes”, reminiscent of the Tamil terrorists’ call for a Home Land. 

In this new threat to Buddhism and the Buddhist People it is no  Surprise that the Buddhist Clergy has this time formed the Bodu Bala Sena,  as political leadership is unfortunately caught in an International call for reconciliation of Communities, which has restricted the Government to be  lenient towards the Muslims in their most provocative activities, not second to another form of terrorism against  Sri Lanka and its people. 

Rishad Bathiudeen is taking the mean advantage of his position as a Minister and the Government’s embarrassment in its  promise to the International Community for reconciliation of Communities, to get maximum of advantages to the Muslim Community, at the expense of  Buddhism and the Buddhist people.  It is right that the Bodu Bala Sena has challenged him, though the way it was done may not be considered  conventional.

The Trust claimed that Minister Rishad Bathiudeen had disregarded conservation laws to facilitate settlements there and over 3000 hectares of protected land within numerous forest reserves had been cleared to make way for Muslim settlements in the North and the East provinces breaching the country's laws under the Forest Conservation Act.

The Bodu Bala Sena is an essential evolution for the protection of Buddhism which is again under threat by a  new  Islamic terrorism.  But to face this threat the Buddhists and the Buddhist monks should not be divided.  This should be  made an occasion for yet another Buddhist revival.

But the Bodu Bala Sena commencing from  Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara thero should not let themselves be  carried away from the vastness of the Challenge they have before them.  They should keep their comportment within  their professed vocation as Buddhist Monks, as they are called upon today to meet another threat to Buddha Sasana,  as it had been through out its history, beginning from the South Indian incursions. 

For the  Buddhists people the Buddhist Monks are  one of the Sacred Gems worthy of worship. They should always keep in  mind  this  respectful place they have  amoung the followers of Buddhist teachings. Therefore, they should  never act in a way that degrade the Buddhist Monkhood.  Their behaviour should not be like that of the laypersons.  They should be compassionate, speak gently, without using harsh language.  If they behave like the ordinary laymen, there is the fear that they  will be treated like them, and not taken seriously.

We have seen Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero and others behaving like thugs , angry and aggressive attacking another monk.  This is not in keeping with the behaviour expected of them.  The police  respected  the yellow robe they were wearing, otherwise they would have been arrested handcuffed and taken away by the police.  The monks have no right to take the law into their own hands.  The Buddha never spoke harshly to ordinary lay people, though he did not hesitate to reprimand  his disciples using strong words.

Lot of things could be done without resorting to aggressivity .  People could be made to listen if they are  spoken to appropriately. 

In a way the Buddhist Monks have been compelled to be aggressive in order to stop the provocative behaviour of the Muslim politicians.  Therefore the Muslims should change their present behaviour, which is mostly influenced by the fundamentalist and Muslim terrorism of the Middle East.  

The Muslims have not become a nuisance only in Sri Lanka, but also in Muslim countries.  An  Egyptian court recently sentenced to death 683 Muslim Brotherhood supporters.  Sri Lanka should therefore be vigilant, and Bodu Bala Sena should nort  be blamed for the action they are taking, though the way they are doing it is not conventional. It is Bodu Bala Sena that highlighted the Wilpattu Muslim settlements.

Muslims settled in Wilpattu Reservations

The Government seems unable to stop Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who has become a law unto himself. Minister Bathiudeen is  abusing his power as a Minister to settle Muslims in large numbers clearing forests, and building roads into forest reservations, while the displaced Sinhala Buddhists  are still waiting to be resettled.  What is wrong if Bodu Bala Sena steps in to point out irregularities of which  the government seems to be unaware ?

Unauthorised Clearing of Forest Reservations for Muslim Settlements

Bodu Bala Sena is not an organisation that should be condemned, it is an important solution  to face the  latest threat to Buddhism coming from a determined Islamic revolution that is threatening the civilised world today. 

But to be effective and accepted by the Buddhist people, Bodu Bala Sena should adopt a  different method  to solve the problems, keeping their behaviour pattern in terms of the  teachings of the Buddha.  The whole world is watching the Bodu Bala Sena, therefore they should adopt a more acceptable manner of speech,  and action in dealing with their adversaries who are becoming a threat to Buddha Sasana and the Buddhist society in Sri Lanka.

It would be more effective if  Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya and Rawana Balaya  could come under one flag, and plan intervention where their presence becomes necessary to defend  Buddhism and the Buddhist people, and to give early warning to those concerned of any form of “terrorism” be it from the Tamils or from the Muslims.