Sri Lanka redefines “curfew” in Beruwela
Lest we forget, the Police imposed a curfew in Beruwela and Aluthgama on 15th June in an effort to stop the violence against Muslims in the area. The curfew in Aluthgama was…
Year: 2014
Ven. Wataraka Thero’s last statement before his arrest (with English subtitles)
has already published a detailed record of the violence the BBS has meted out on Ven. Wataraka Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the Rotalawela Mahaweli Maha Viharaya in Mahiyanganaya, in the Uva province. Ven. Wataraka…
Elusive Economic Peace Dividend in Sri Lanka: ALL that glitters is not gold
Photo courtesy IPS Introduction It is five years since the decisive end of the civil war in May 2009. The government’s approach to resolving the long festering ethnic conflict in the country…
From Black July ’83 to Dark June ’14: A violent peace in Sri Lanka
AFP PHOTO/ Ishara S. KODIKARA via Mobs on the streets, houses being burnt, people being attacked due to their race or religion, some being killed, the law enforcement and security services unable…
The Muslims of Sri Lanka: A community under siege?
Photo courtesy CNN June 2014 will go down in the annals of Sri Lankan history as a turning point in ethnic relations, with large scale communal violence being unleashed on a most…
The Politics of ‘Aluthgama’
Anagarika Dharmapala, Letter of 15th June, 1915 (in A. Guruge, ed, (1991), p. 540-541 The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and its many monks take their ‘professional’ duty – the promotion of Sinhala…
Some Civil Society Questions for Bodu Bala Sena (BBS)
Photo by Dinouk Colombage, Al Jazeera The Facebook (FB) group called “Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena (BQBBS)” once compiled a list of questions for BBS through a lengthy consultation period with its…
Statement on Aluthgama violence by Rt. Revd Dhiloraj R. Canagasabey, Bishop of Colombo
Photo by Dinouk Colombage, Al Jazeera I am deeply perturbed and concerned at the large scale violence unleashed on members of the Muslim community last weekend (15th June 2014), in the Aluthgama,…
Did the BBS attack Vijitha Thero again?
Image courtesy BBC Venerable Watareka Vijitha Thero is a Buddhist Monk and the Chief Incumbent of the Rotalawela Mahaweli Maha Viharaya in Mahiyanganaya, in the Uva province. Vijitha Thero is also an…
Wake up and go to sleep: The tale of the two tweeterings
Photo courtesy Al Jazeera On the Sunday I am suddenly getting up early in the morning. I am getting the tweetering. I am big fan of the tweetering because it is always…
Aluthgama violence: Where was Sri Lanka’s President?
Photo by Dinouk Colombage, via The horrible killings and destruction in Aluthgama on Sunday was blacked out by almost all mainstream media in Sri Lanka at the height of the violence and the morning after….
How must we respond to religious extremism and incitement to violence?
Image from Ingulfed Do not despair. It helps to try to understand the situation as it evolves, rather than crystallise your view of it in judgment. If you know your enemies and…
IS THE BBS THE BOSS?
Photo courtesy There are scarier things, worse things, than Black July ’83. Aluthgama signaled the possibility of such things. The sequence of events, the lethal violence, the horror of Aluthgama were reminiscent…
The Limits of Tolerance
Photo courtesy There is a limit to tolerance, and this is it. In its short history as an independent republic, Sri Lanka has seen more bloodshed than seems fair. Many of our…
Horror in Aluthgama: Their Crime, Our Shame
Photo courtesy BBC [Editors note: This was sent by the author directly to us. As a policy Groundviews does not republish what’s already gone up somewhere else on the web. Making an…
