28 March, 2024

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A Betrayal, Repugnant & Lethal 

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“I will fight until such time that a leader can say that this is a country of Sinhala-Buddhist.” ~ Bhikku Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara (Japan Times – 17.6.2017)

The presidential election of 2015 was more than an electoral contest. It was a political war between two opposing worldviews, a contestation for the soul and future of Sri Lanka.

The battle-lines were clear. Mahinda Rajapaksa represented familial rule and dynastic succession, a Sri Lanka which was anti-democratic and Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist. Minority-phobia and race-baiting were the main political weapons of the Rajapaksa camp. A relentless campaign was waged to resurrect old Sinhala-Buddhist fears about Tamils, Muslims and Christians and to create new ones. The opposition was depicted as witless-puppets of diabolical forces committed to the dismemberment and destruction of Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka. Bodu Bala Sena, which campaigned hard for Mr. Rajapaksa, told the media that in the event of victory it will ask for the setting up of commissions to probe “non-government organisations, political parties and politicians have been part of financing deals that have taken place”.

The stakes were understood by everyone. That was why all minorities came out in unprecedented numbers to vote for Maithripala Sirisena. That was why moderates of the majority community placed their reservations on the backburner and rallied round the opposition. That was why the Rajapaksa camp labelled the outcome of the election as a ‘minority victory’. 

For the next two years, Sinhala-Buddhist supremacists skulked on the margins of polity and society, deprived of the powers and privileges they had enjoyed previously. Extremism was not dead and gone, but it had lost the ability to command the state, dictate to the government and ignore the law.

Post-election, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government gradually turned its back on various aspects of its mandate. It gave into corruption and nepotism; it imposed unbearable economic burdens on the people; it failed to deliver on promises of devolution and justice; it gave up on accountability and transparency. With each step in the wrong direction, it began to narrow the gap between itself and the Rajapaksas. 

Now the government seems to be committing another betrayal, the worst so far – succumbing to Sinhala-Buddhist supremacism.

There is no official racism; yet. But increasingly a level of tolerance is being accorded to the most toxic purveyors of Sinhala-Buddhist racism which bodes ill for the dream of a pluralist, tolerant and humane Sri Lanka.

The BBS is on the march, once again. Attacks on Muslim shops and mosques have proliferated. The attacks are not limited to any particular locality, but extremely widespread, from urban Dematagoda via suburban Maharagama to rural Mahiyangana. So far the police have been inexcusably incompetent in prevention and in detection. And Lankan police suffer such generalised and spectacular failure only when a political hand is holding them back.

The suspicion of a political-cover for anti-Muslim arsonists is bolstered by the sudden transformation of the incendiary Sinhala-Buddhist monk, Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara into a modern day Scarlet Pimpernal. He is giving interviews and issuing threats, even as the police supposedly seek him ‘here, there and everywhere.’ His elusive power is clearly not his own; it cannot come from the Rajapaksas either, even though he is serving their agenda, wittingly or unwittingly (In June 2016, Mahinda Rajapaksas reportedly defended anti-Muslim violence saying, “that monks are ‘only human… I have never seen a Buddhist monks advocating killing’”). He has other patrons, power-wielders ensconced at the highest levels of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government. Names are being mentioned, especially that of Champaka Ranawaka, a man whose political existence depends on Sinhala-Buddhist racism. But in the end, the buck stops with President Sirisena and Premier Wicrkemesinghe. They owe a responsibility to the people who elected them, to the country and to the future. And they are failing, again.

A Government of Moral Cowards

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government’s response to the plague of religious racism has been slow and tepid so far, limited to anodyne statements, pious declarations which mean less than nothing when unaccompanied by necessary actions. There is no need to bring in special laws, as the PM says he is willing to do. The problem is not the absence of laws. The problem is that the existing laws are not being implemented. Arson is against the law. And there are two court-warrants against Bhikku Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara. Yet, anti-Muslim arsonists, attackers on evangelical Christian churches and the BBS head-honcho are enjoying a level of impunity not available even to most cabinet ministers. 

Though religious extremism is not a charge which can be levelled against either the President or the Prime Minister, their unwillingness to openly condemn the BBS or to unleash the full force of law on the criminal attackers indicates a worrying absence of will. The government has been ceding the moral high-ground on issue after issue, from corruption to environment, from the economy to foreign relations, from devolution to justice. The lackadaisical response to renewed anti-Muslim/anti-Christian violence amounts to one more step down this same road of moral cowardice and political opportunism.

When progressive and moderate Muslims campaigned for reforms in the archaic Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), the government retreated into silence and inactivity. It feared to take a stand, feared to incur the wrath of Muslim extremists who demonstrated in Colombo defending child marriage. When some of those extremists openly threatened moderate Muslims, the government kept its collective mouth firmly shut.

Now the government is displaying a similar inability to stand up to the criminal dealings of the BBS. Had the government acted decisively and allowed the police to complete investigations and arrest all suspects, the situation would have returned to normal by now. By allowing the BBS to break the law with impunity, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration is providing encouragement and succour to extremists.

There was a prehistory to Black July, consisting of the teaching of contempt and the spreading of fear. It was that seeding which enabled Black July.

Today we are living through the pre-history of an anti-Muslim riot. The demonising of all Muslims as fanatics hell-bent on taking over our land, our economy and our women is already happening. Once the kindling is ready, any spark, real or spurious, would do.

The plague is not an exclusive Lankan malaise. From Hindu India and Islamic Indonesia to Buddhist Myanmar, extremism is gaining ground and claiming victories. The Middle East is now closer than ever to the Sunni-Shia war its previous rulers had the sense to avoid. A madness has seized Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist minds, making them immune not just to pity and decency, not just to reason and logic, but also to obvious self-interest. If moderates of all nations – political and religious leaders, opinion-makers and ordinary people – do not speak louder, stand firmer and act faster, religious strife will become the norm in the East, as it was once in the West, denuding whatever development and progress we have achieved in the past.

As Martha Nussbaum points out, the real clash of civilization is “within virtually all modern nations —between people who are prepared to live on terms of equal respect with others who are different, and those who seek the protection of homogeneity and the domination of a single ‘pure’ religious and ethnic tradition.” (The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s FutureAnd in that clash the BBS is on the same side as the Islamic State. The question is will the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration honour its mandate and stand with the forces of moderation or will it betray its own people by ceding the stage to extremists?

Tolerating Intolerance

Religious intolerance was once an Occidental vice, a vice for which the Christian West paid a heavy price, in blood and devastation, in lost opportunities and retarded progress. The nadir of politicised Christianity and the theocratic experiment came with the Thirty Year War. Fought mainly along Catholic vs. Protestant lines, it claimed around 9 million lives and turned Central Europe, its main battleground, into a wasteland, with survivors condemned to a life of destitution and barbarity, not excluding cannibalism. 

When Christian Occident was mired in religiously-motivated bloodletting, Hindu, Buddhist and Islam Orient were places of relative tolerance. Asia, Africa or the Middle East never underwent the equivalent of a Thirty Years War or Roman/Spanish Inquisition. It was the East rather than the West which gave birth to enlightened rulers whose political visions were far in advance of their times, from Ashoka to Akbar. As Amartya Sen pointed out, “When Akbar was issuing his legal order that ‘no man should be interfered with on account of religion…’ and was busy arranging dialogues between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Parsees, Jews and even atheists, Giodarno Bruno was being burnt at the stake in Rome for heresy…” (The Argumentative Indian)

The East did persecute the religious-other, but not universally or continuously as did Europe, and not with such unrelenting brutality. There were beheadings and incarcerations, but no systematic auto-da-fes or witch hunts. Perhaps the most potent symbol of that difference was the final Eastern outpost in the West, the city of Granada. Islamic Granada in Catholic Spain was a metropolis of mosques, synagogues and churches, gardens and libraries, Europe’s sole oasis of religious pluralism, a place where people of Islamic, Christian and Jewish faiths could live in harmony. In his lyrical drama Almansor, Heinrich Heine expressed in three short lines the transformation of Granada from a haven of tolerance into a hell of fanaticism, after it fell to Spain:

“I hear the poor old woman as she weeps –

She liked to eat roast goose on Friday, therefore

Now she herself is roasted, for God’s glory.” 

Europe suffered, and learned the wages of religious fanaticism, even though the learning curve was a long and uneven one. In the end, the excesses of religion led to its own downfall. The constant bloodletting in the name of God caused public weariness and cynicism, paving the way for the growth of scepticism and secularism.

We in the East, thanks to our histories of greater tolerance (or lesser intolerance), were spared of major religious wars. As a consequence, we have no real understanding of what religious conflicts can do to people, countries and civilisations. In our ignorance we are opening national and regional doors to theocratic ideas and intolerant practices, thereby risking the kind of bloody strife which convulsed Europe for centuries.

The growth of Sinhala-Buddhist extremism cannot but lead to a reactive growth of Islamic extremism. Majoritarian extremism gave rise to minoritarian extremism in the ethnic realm. The same disaster will be repeated in the religious realm as well, if the government fails to honour the mandate of January 8th and August 19th 2015.

The danger is particularly acute given the ongoing developments in the Middle Eastern region. The Islamic State’s dream of a regional and global Caliphate is ending in defeat. But the annihilation of the IS as a quasi-state will not amount to a defeat of its extremist ideology. The former soldiers of the IS will seek other battlegrounds and other targets, across the world, including Asia. Afghanistan is already suffering, the best cases in point being the horrific suicide bombing in Kabul’s diplomatic district and the capturing by the IS of parts of the Tora Bora mountains, once Bin Laden’s hideout. The moral cowardice of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration is not just repugnant; it is also deadly given these geo-political conditions.

The lessons of history are clear. When Colombo failed to stand up for the rights and defend the lives of Sri Lanka’s Tamils, in desperation, they turned to Madras, Delhi and the LTTE. Lankan Muslims must not be pushed to make the same homicidal-suicidal journey. If the government fails to protect Lankan Muslims, if moderates of all communities fail to come together in defence of democracy, pluralism and justice, Sri Lanka will once again become a killing field on which none thrives but extremists.   

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Latest comments

  • 4
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    History always repeats itself. Live with it.

    • 6
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      The jewish people do not believe it to be so but maybe you crusaders.

    • 6
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      After the National Buddhist Think Tanks Meeting With President Sirisena Are We Going To See The BBS Run Wild Attacking More Sri Lankan Citizens After This Meeting Or Are We Going To See Real Measures Taken To Deal With The BBS!!?

    • 1
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      Jehan-“History always repeats itself. Live with it.” ———–Atlast there is no Nibbana for those mere mortals.

  • 16
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    ““I will fight until such time that a leader can say that this is a country of Sinhala-Buddhist.” ~ Bhikku Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara”

    F’King Coward hiding under the cloth of politicians and talking about fighting.

    • 6
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      Excuse me no country has a religion, it is a land mass, its citizens take on religions that they like and for Gnanasara’s informations ,its Sri Lankan Budhdhists as there are tamils and muslim Budhdhists too,Guess he was ignorant about it.We should be referred to as ,Indian Srilankan Budhdhist since the philosophy came from there and we came from there too-was he ignorant about that too!!We really need enlightened informed Religious and philosophical leaders to teach the contents correctly.

      • 7
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        How about Saudi?
        How about England?
        How about Ireland?
        How about Qatar?
        How about Pakistan?

        They all have a religion! Nothing wrong SL having Buddhism which is only an offshoot of Hinduism.

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          “”Nothing wrong SL having Buddhism which is only an offshoot of Hinduism.”” Buddha God is religion!
          Religion: The unquestioned acceptance of information that is either unverified or that may actually be in conflict with factual evidence. who resorts to the formula: ‘It’s so, because I say so,’ will have to reach for a gun, sooner or later.
          Buddhism is about ethics not a religion and hinduism is about rituals. Asia never had religion it has been imposed by the muslims and catholics/christians.- the crusaders.

        • 7
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          Siva———–You have not only passed the ownership of this island to crooks, murderers and war criminals but now it seems you also want the crooks to have control over morality, philosophy and Buddha’s Teaching.

          Well that is one way of towards self destruction. “Go ahead, make our day” By the way what have all these countries got to do with this island? —-The rulers of all these countries and their ancestors fought killed and conquered the land and crown. However Buddha ran away from all these impermanence. Why in Buddha’s name do you want to legitimise crooks’ theocracy and robber barons’ kleptocracy?

          • 2
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            NV; Sadly You and I are in a Minority. A form of Religion, ‘Sinhala Buddhism’ or ‘Mahayana Buddhism’ has Won the day for the Majority! The Buddha’s True Dhamma is no longer the accepted Teaching . Majority Rule is what is accepted as ‘Prajatantravadaya’!

        • 8
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          Siva,
          There is something wrong with your list. What difference you see between SL and Pakistan for instance?

          Pakistan constitution says: people belonging to other religion can live in Pakistan. They have their rights protected by the constitution of Pakistan and they are lawfully meant to have equal rights as their Muslim countrymen.

          Have a look at below list too:
          India is WITHOUT an official religion, but people have the right to practice any faith.
          Nigeria is WITHOUT an official religion, but people have the right to practice any faith.
          Indonesia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state.
          Malaysia, is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state.
          Turky is a Majority Muslim country WITHOUT an official religion.
          SL, a country WITH official religion ;-)

          • 4
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            RISHAD: Indonesia is the world’s 14th largest country in the world. You are comparing that with Sri lanka. Another stupid argument from you is India does not have an official religion. India is the cradle of civilization and religions. It is not Saudi arabia which thirves on wahabism since the day it began. One more, Nigeria. A country over nine million sq. KM. YOu are comparing with this 65,000 Sq. KM island. what a stupid hyena you are.

            • 8
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              Jimsofty,

              Ha..ha… hypocrite. You can compare SL with big, rich and absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia to support suppressing minority rights, but I can’t do the same for better purposes?

              Yes, India is the cradle of few religions (not sure about civilization), officially India is a Secular State by the 42nd amendment act of Constitution in 1976. Means it is neutral in religious matters. Please learn the facts before deciding whose argument is supposed to be stupid.

            • 3
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              Jimsofty, Does size really matter to you? ;-) Learn the facts. Just this morning I saw someone telling you not to prove you’re a stupid on a weekly basis. You changed your schedule to daily?

    • 5
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      “I will fight until such time that a leader can say that this is a country of Sinhala-Buddhist.” ~ Bhikku Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara

      Even the Mahavamsa does not say that Sri Lanka is a country of Sinhala-Buddhists. According to the Sri Lankan constitution, Sri Lanka is a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, tri-lingual, social democratic republic where the Sinhala-Buddhists are the majority.

      The foolish Sinhala-Buddhists are confused. Due to their foolishness, they believe that the majority race in a country is the sole owner of the country and all others (minorities) are aliens. They forgot the fact that they were also immigrants who came to Sri Lanka along with Vijay in a boat.

  • 5
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    “If the government fails to protect Lankan Muslims, if moderates of all communities fail to come together in defense of democracy, pluralism and justice, Sri Lanka will once again become a killing field on which none thrives but extremists. “

    This concluding sentence says it all in a nutshell!

    Our notoriously myopic politicians are awaiting another backlash from another minority group, not to mention creating prime conditions for recruiting the disgruntled youth and others by groups like ISIS.

    Stop the rot – first by arresting the BBS thug and putting him where he belongs as an example to indicate that hate-crimes will not be tolerated in this country.

    But then to do that our (so-called) leaders will have to grow spines!

  • 8
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    It should be Sinhala buddhist Supremacism versus Christian and muslim expansionim. for Christians, it is the Evangelical church which is the Jihadist – cult. for Muslims, Sunni – Wahabis are the murderous cult which want to destroy all other muslims sects and cover up Asia before the christians. So, the whole Asia including China is fighting this menace. Sinhala buddhists are fighting for their survival. Only problem is only one organization is active while christians and muslims are well financed and ganged up.

  • 8
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    An innocent Buddhist monk who talks his heart is the victim here. He is being targetted to achieve Wahabi and Evangelical goals. It is all foreign money working and trying to bully the president. there are some govt ministers supporting this because they would sell even the country if they money and power. UIT is evangelical and wahabi aggression in Asia.

    • 11
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      Jim the dimwit,

      Buddhism in SL has turned into nothing but barbarism and Galaboda atte Nanasara is a Buddhist Terrorist.

    • 2
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      if you share a bit of what you are smoking , you can revive the dodo !

    • 6
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      Jimsofty:
      Do you really have to prove your stupidity week after week when you’ve already given ample evidence of it?
      If you think that you’ve succeeded in defending your racism and intolerance and support of hatred based on cruel and warped thinking, you’d better catch up on the years of kindergarten that you obviously missed.

  • 5
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    Fr. Emmanueal, a Pro-LTTE Christian Priest has written that for the first time, With the leadership of Mrs. Chandrika Kumaranathunga, Rainbow nation of Sri lanka will be able to have three nations and four religions. So, what about the Sinhala – nation else where sinhala buddhists ?. Because, 2.0 billion muslims, 2.0 billion christians and 100 million Tamils have countries all over the world. Ven Ghanasara and BBS are the PAWNs here. It looks, it is a timely, pre-orchestrated, well organized attack on Sinhala buddhists because the President is listening to everybody. Ranil, CBK, Mangala are all for destruction of the country. SO, if Sinhala buddhists do not wake up now, there won’t be any other time. It will be late. IT is christians, muslims and Tamils who want a Singapore in Sri lanka and not the buddhists.

    • 5
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      “So, what about the Sinhala – nation else where sinhala buddhists ?”

      There is no such thing as a Sinhala nation. Sinhala is a language spoken by a race of people. Where Sinhala Buddhists will be is in Sri Lanka practicing their religion. The bigots that using the religion as cover can jump into the Bera Lake for all what we care.

    • 2
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      “”Fr. Emmanueal, a Pro-LTTE Christian Priest” aney Yakoo why don’t you keep washing that pulli padde underwear like hussain he will pass away- did the pagga captain sinhala cardinal or pope listen to him or Gota and wife?? keep close to your skunk patch may be you say Eureka!!
      If ever you had had the opportunity to be close to a freemason you know what this thing called religion is. Lankas 3 chapters are headed by very old school teachers the crowd controllers, the puppets that dance to the tune of the old rogues and guarded by the knights in armour. Even the dalada bomber hamuduruwo admitted it to his saviours the jaffna demala solicitors of southall.- what’s more?

  • 4
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    All the buddhists organisations came up when buddhism is in danger. catholics and cristians threats still there from portuguese error. now another threat is coming up. do you want buddhists to keep quite,.actions generate reaction. it is simple theory. why do you not ask catholics, christians and muslims to stop their activities. if others come up with arms buddhists have same rights to meet them with arms. muslims coming up with oil money. how do you propose to defend. my option is go ahead with guns and kill them. non violence does not work always.why do muslims want to announce five times a day there is no god but allah. is it not a defamation to other religions. why should we allow such a concession to religion that accept only a few percentage of our population. why do they not remove it from their practice if they want peace and harmony. writer should answer these questions if she can blame buddhists in big way. our kings given refuged to muslims when south india gained freedom from Delhi sultanate. arabs came , collected trading items and went back. these muslims are south indians not arabs.if they can not come in line with asian religions like buddhism and hinduism, they must be banned.

    • 2
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      You rotten Ranjith, what practices Muslims should remove that you are writing here? Okay you tell me about the practices Buddhist do not like so I will give a good. Consider this as a challenge from me and response to this, otherwise I am considering you as third rate fable maker who lies at every turn or may be a Tamil or Christian all out to create trouble.

      • 0
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        Ralli Ameen

        I do not care what you think or say on me.you rotten garbage hear what your priest announce five times a day if you can understand arabic.then you can understand it. no god but Allah. is it correct. hindus have various gods. but you defame them saying no god but allah. but talk on religious harmony and coexistence. go out mad dog.

        • 1
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          ranjith(sprrw)

          You rotten garbage yourself do not know what you are saying. I can understand, it says five times a day Allah (god) is great, there is none worthy of worship but Allah, Prophet Muhammed is his messenger, hasten to prayer, hasten to success. In the morning prayer is better than sleep added. We don’t say no god but Allah, you fool don not know the meaning. In Arabic it is “no Allah (other Allah) but Allah”. In English there is “no god (or gods) but one god. This do not refer to Buddha or Hindu gods. Allah means one, no plural or gender but god has gods, goddess. Allah means not a man or woman nor beget or begotten and not of this material words. That is we consider Allah as a supreme force. Muslims are proud, we don’t worship idols of dead people or mythological idols and no priest. Your priest ride on the head of their subjects. I hope you dump understand this. Call for prayer is maximum for 2-3 minutes. But pirith in temples will go on for hours in the morning and the funny part is Monk start the record player and sleep. One true story was that from a temple in Colombo 15 people could hear Baila song early morning until some interfered. The monk had instructed the golaya to start the recorder and gone to sleep. This idiot by mistake put the tape having baila song. One fact I would like to tell you, that is like Prophet Muhammad neither Jesus or lord Buddha said they were god or supernatural human being and to make idols of them and worship. Those are fine works of your priest. Mad dogs at least have a brain but not the brainless dogs.

    • 3
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      Doesn’t CT have a policy against such incomprehensible (except for the blatant racism) claptrap?
      PLEASE don’t inflict it on us who read CT regularly!

    • 3
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      “muslims coming up with oil money. how do you propose to defend. my option is go ahead with guns and kill them” …”if they can not come in line with asian religions like buddhism and hinduism, they must be banned” – A tiny brain on the showcase.

  • 6
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    Do Muslim and Christian nations have Ministers for Buddhist affairs? Buddhists are fighting for their lives against Wahabbi Islam from the Middle East and Christian Evangelisation from the West. Who will help us if we don’t help ourselves? Ven Gnanasara’s speech and methods are violent but he is pointing out something that the politicians have been ignoring for years. Soon it will be too late.

    • 5
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      Taraki ———Here we go again. —“Do Muslim and Christian nations have Ministers for Buddhist affairs? “———– Brilliant question. ——————“Buddhists are fighting for their lives against Wahabbi Islam from the Middle East and Christian Evangelisation from the West. ” ————Another brilliant typing. —— “Who will help us if we don’t help ourselves? “———-Another brilliant question. The simple answer is stop self destruction and find treatment for mass paranoia. —————————————————————————————————- “Ven Gnanasara’s speech and methods are violent but he is pointing out something that the politicians have been ignoring for years. —————————– Another brilliant typing. SWRD Bandaranayake’s speeches were much calmer and polite however we have had the misfortune to see much of the destruction. —The enlightened would not have agreed with you if he is still alive. ————If and when the scientists discover treatment for paranoia I will let you know. Therefore keep visiting these columns for latest development in medical field . ————

  • 2
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    All we need is for good people to do nothing. The fatal catch is that any government is sworn constitutionally to defend Buddhism. The upshot is that any nutter in a saffron robe can run amok and create mayhem, disharmony and hatred, and the forces of law and order will baulk at taking action. The world looks on as, once again, we Sri Lankans turn on each other, preparing to blood-let in a hopeless cause. AND, the politicians of every hue will do nothing to stop it because they always thrive on chaos.

    The biggest joke of all are the forces of law and order (?) and the security forces:
    “They seek him here, they seek him there, the khaki seek him everywhere.
    Is he in heaven or is he in hell? That damned saffron-clad elusive Pimpernel”.

    Here’s a clue: the dark monk is unshaven, saffron-clad and in a room high above the trees in a Kurunduwatte house of a very, very, very important person who practices public sil as often as he can. Eye-Gee-Pee, go fetch!

    • 4
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      Spring Koha, “”Eye-Gee-Pee, go fetch!”” tomorrow is big match day that lanka handed over to their lovers pakistan. Here is a magic potion for the patchwork race, patchwork faith, patchwork constitution, patchwork language. If you can spend a useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner watching the game of sticks and stones (cricket is an indian game) and listening to the sound of crickets, you have learned how to live.- I am sufficient as I am.

    • 3
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      Spring Koha ————-“All we need is for good people to do nothing.” —–Yes, I agree with you. Then why are you in hiding? I would have thought your keyboard is mightier than the saffron clad thug’s clanking b***s. ————- Day by day the thug is being embolden by the inaction of the state. As a result many born stupids/fascists are expressing bull s**t in support of the thugs. ———–With your frequent presence in this columns I believe you can make positive changes among other readers, put some sense into their head. ————- Be a man, ….. I will be right behind you. ….

      • 1
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        Native Vedda, “”Be a man, ….. I will be right behind you. ….”” kingfisher father was a journo like Dj’s Negombo walle kalapuve is not interested in teetotalers. secret secret like the church they are baptised, married and buried.

  • 0
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    During the 2017 Vesak celebrations in Colombo there were many signs posted by the government depicting the need to make Sri Lanka a centre for Theravada Buddhism; the current constitution of Sri Lanka provides for a special status to Buddhism; even the Kandyan convention drawn by the British stated the “The religion of Buddhism is declared inviolable and its rights to be maintained and protected”. In Sri Lanka Buddhism is the religion of Sinhala people, and only of Sinhala people, there are no Tamil, Moor or Dutch Burgher Buddhists (that is as far as I know, enlighten me if you know otherwise). All that point to the fact that, whether y’all like it or not Sinhala Buddhistness is an inviolable condition for the existence of, a sovereign, integral, peaceful Sri Lanka.
    Considering the stats of religion in other nations, the supreme governor of the Church of England QE II is also the head of United Kingdom, Norway although constitutionally secular since 2012 still is the main patron the Lutheran Church, Bhutan of which the elites rave quoting the happiness index is a Buddhist country. So TG, why is considering Sri Lanka to be a Sinhala Buddhist nation where all other religions can exist in harmony is so appalling?

  • 9
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    Tisaranee Gunasekara: unsurprisingly you are in bed with the viper family that promised rice from the moon and sent the children looking for food in our colombo 7 bins while the viper family had all the sultans and sultanas for their X’mas cake.
    Lanka is like tribal Bosnia waiting to explode and you are kattadiya churning the magic potion that won’t work this time over with The Donald who sees elk like you as the enemy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
    Just as the mixed economy made the muslims grab most trade with the assistance of both right wing leaders and left wing leaders (both doors of death) and created racial and religious animosity inevitable so too did the global spread of statism.

    • 2
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      Upul Tilakaratne:
      I suppose getting all that viciousness spread on stupidity, helps you feel a bit more comfortable. But do you REALLY have to give us your contradictions, hate and lies in a journal such as CT?

      • 5
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        “”I suppose getting all that viciousness spread on stupidity, helps you feel a bit more comfortable.” Oh JR’s baby elephant holding pseudo rani tail. the subtlety of stupidity is your man Ranil. “”But do you REALLY have to give us your contradictions, hate and lies in a `journal such as CT`?”” Only Truth is Right and when did you think that truth was you? Give us a break away from your breadfruit tree.
        “journal such as CT`?”” ` – entering an appointment in outlook is journaling. and CT is a `blog` like most newsrooms of the world.
        T.G. is an outdated product She must go away gracefully. MR had good points too like his development plans- russians have beaten the canadians in non GM cereal production- thats food for thought take it or leave it.

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    Bring in laws (if doesn’t exist), ban any organizations with threats to become a terrorist group in future, and arrest the members – Tensions would raise for few days, then business as usual to concentrate on other developments. Still a bud, not sure the govt motives to let it grow.

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    Democracy has defects and one may learn from the present Lankan predicament. Since independence power had changed hands between two dominant groups . A language divide was created and exploited. The group which promised the deeper grave to bury Tamils (not Muslims) got elected. If anyone pointed out that there are children (still breathing) in the grave, were called traitors. Now we have language/religion divide. When will this end?

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    Sri Lanka can already be called a Buddhist country but where people from other religions can live without hindrance. So what is this Galagoda Priest “fighting” for? Does he want people of other religions to be removed or to disappear? We know from world history that whenever people of different religions live peaceably together for a while, that there will be politicians or other rulers who will try to divide them – because it is easier to rule or even win elections. The question is, who is supporting and funding this priest? It is likely that he has support both nationally and internationally and that he is nothing more than a mercenary being used for certain Agendas.

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      Mavan: Wahabis explaining religious tolerance. IS thzat in the Quran ?

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    There is absolutely zero chance of Hindu India, which views Buddhism as a part Hindutva and Buddha an Avatar of Vischnu, ever standing by watching if IS barbarians infiltrate Lanka with fanatical Pakistani support. India will support the Lankan Sinhala and Tamil peoples to defend themselves. Israel will also support Lanka and so would Russia, in the fight against Islam. Lankan Muslims will not have any significant ally to turn to. Arab world is fighting each other and non-Arab Shiia countries like Iran are under severe pressure by the US and Israel. The Trump White House has zero tolerance for ISIS and will cheer their annihilation anywhere, including in Lanka.

    The writer sounds deluded and has unwittingly shown utter ignorance of reality. The reason why Wickremasingh and Sirisen alliance is soft pedaling things is because they know that the Western World under Trump leadership has started a decisive batter against radical Islam. Lankan Sinhalese and Tamil must forget their differences and deal a lethal and annihilating blow to radical Islam immediately while ensuring that Islamic efforts at changing the demographics by breeding like vermin is challenged head on.

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    There are those refuse to accept that Sri Lanka is the home of Sinhala-Buddhism. They have a hidden agenda to relegate it to 2nd or 3rd place by making certain minorities or religious groups powerful beyond any reasonable metrics. For example, Norway was perfectly willing to divide the island in half. India played a similar game for a long time until they realized that Tamil Nadu would also try to secede. Mahinda came along and crushed all these ambitions for good. So of course, the “hidden agenda” crowd have a special hatred for him. They will not give him credit for crushing Tamil terrorism because they had the exact opposite goal in mind: to use Tamil separatism to divide the country. This same group of people are now frustrated because the “democratically” elected duo of Maithree and Ranil have failed to jump on the separatist bandwagon. They are not even capable of getting a federal solution, a first step in the “democratic” pathway for separatism. Adding to their frustration, they can see the popularity of Mahinda is still at all-time highs. How can this be, if he was given a sound defeat in the “democratic” elections? Bottom line: Mahinda is still more popular than all the journalists, NGO’s, human rights lawyers, human rights professors, etc.

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    All The Dare Devil Racists Are High At Work ………….More Over Its Not Surprising The BUTHCHERS Of The VP Ghost Is Roaring Internationally and locally ……………And They Should Be Well Ashamed Their Nudity Is Being Readily Exposed…………..Betraying Their Mother Country Further With The Muslim Extremists…………….More The You Push………………….. It Shall Be An Awakening For The PATRIOTS Of The Country To Identify The Facts And Figures Of The Dirty Muslim Extremism And Come Forward To SAVE the Country From These Dare Devils………………So It Is Time For the Patriots To Keep Track On all events With Eyes And Ears Wide Open…………..With All Thanks Goes To Ven. Gnanasara Thero For Exposing The Muslim Extremism

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    What do we gain by shouting out and saying that this is a Sinhalese Buddhist country. We can write it down in the constitution or as a rock inscription but if Buddhist clergy and the laymen do not practice what Buddha preached this will not become a Sinhalese Buddhist country. Trust and respect for Buddhist clergy has deteriorated island wide due to politics and politicians. We have a Buddhist monk who is leading a Nurses union. We have Mahanayakas visiting the temple of the tooth in gas guzling limousines but ask the layman to walk .We have heard of monks wearing shorts and driving cars after having liquor. We have heard of monks having two sets of clothes the robe and trousers to wear when visiting women. Now we hear of Galagoda atte hiding when there are warrants to arrest him. A good Buddhist will not hide fearing death. Here I reminded of Arahant Moggallana who came to the open knowing very well that he will be killed. So no amount of declarations will preserve Sinhalese Buddhists we only can foster and promote by practicing Buddhas teachings.

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