A quotidian response: Letter to President regarding religious extremism
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On 4th July 2012, along with printed and bound copies of the over 1,400 comments in Tamil, Sinhala and English generated by Not In Our Name (coming to over 300 pages), a letter was penned and delivered to the Presidential Secretariat, with copies to relevant Government Departments and the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu Chapter, Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero.
Precisely three weeks later, on 25th July 2012, we received this intimation from the Presidential Secretariat that the letter was received.
However, to date, there has not been any public statement of regret, an apology or unequivocal condemnation of the tragic violence in Dambulla by government, the President or the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu Chapter, Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero.
Into this damning silence and unwillingness to condemn even that which is so blatantly captured on video and other media, one can read a chilling message – this government will not just condone religious violence, it will protect leading monks and others who in the name of Buddhism, ferment intolerance and racism.
The reply. is the gist of the governance in the country
There have been several minor incursions by our local Taliban forbidding muslims to pray in mosques in certain areas. These have been countered by recourse to the legal system. So it seems that the law will prevail against the efforts of a few racist who try to disrupt the harmony of this nation. The dogs bark but the caravan goes on.