The BBS and a catalyst for a Buddhist Muslim conflict
Photo by Shilpa Samaratunge The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), Sri Lanka’s catalyst for opening up a new Buddhist verses Muslim conflict, perhaps due to boredom now that a thirty year civil war…
Religion and faith
Is BBS the new face of Buddhist revivalism?
This is a response to an article written by Udaya Gammanpila which appeared in the two days later (08 July 2014), but it has not been published to date. Photo by Shilpa…
Photos around questions I couldn’t answer: Four days after the riots
At journalism school I was taught to get as close as possible without getting involved. Go in, get the story, don’t become the story, don’t interfere with the story. These rules played…
Responding to Aluthgama
Photography by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana Responding to Aluthgama Imagine a country, an island in the Indian Ocean. Let’s call it Serendib (ooh, the irony). Imagine further: several groups, including those named Limat, Milsum…
Stop blaming the victims
Photo by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana In the weeks that have passed since 6-15 (15th June) when Sri Lanka witnessed one of the worst outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence, the official narrative has been as…
Proud Inheritors or Petty Contractors? Understanding the BBS phenomenon in Sri Lankan politics
Photo by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana The speech delivered by Ven. Galaboda-atté Gnanasara at a public meeting in the Aluthgama on 14 June 2014 is broadly considered as the primary cause that triggered the subsequent…
The Riots of June 2014 and Pogrom of July 1983
Photo by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana It is unlikely that there is anyone living who remembers the anti -Muslim riots of 1915. In any case, apart from the fact that most of the victims…
The Aluthgama Atrocities: Lessons for Religion-engagement or estrangement
Photo by Thyagi Ruwanpathirana The recent spate of senseless attacks on the Muslim community was brought about by the convergence of a chronic breakdown of law and order, manipulative politics and the…
A full frontal military assault on Mangala Samaraweera
Image courtesy Late last week we witnessed the scenario where the Army spokesman, a brigadier in rank, made the unusual claim that current UNP spokesman and former Rajapakse Administration Foreign Minister, MP…
The aftermath: Aluthgama two weeks on
Two weeks have passed since violence broke out in Aluthgama and Beruwala on the 15th June- a day that will go down in the history books of Sri Lanka as nothing short…
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…
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…
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…
