{"id":164438,"date":"2016-06-26T14:07:43","date_gmt":"2016-06-26T08:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=164438"},"modified":"2016-07-03T00:03:18","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T18:33:18","slug":"the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laksiri Fernando<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Laksiri Fernando<\/p><\/div>\n

The failure so far to curtail the extremist Bodu Bala Sena<\/span><\/a> (BBS) activities against the Muslim community is a major black mark on the Yahapalana government as it promised to bring peace and reconciliation to the country. It is understood that people\u2019s racial attitudes, hatred or prejudices cannot easily be eliminated just because of a governmental change after an election. However, it is the bounden duty of any government to curtail open extremist activities, spreading hate and incitement against communities. This is more so in the case of a government elected on the promise of good governance, rule of law and justice to all communities and particularly to the vulnerable minorities.<\/p>\n

Preaching of Hate<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara<\/span><\/a> has demonstrated at the Satyagraha meeting at Mahiyangana on the 21st of this month<\/span><\/a> is not simply expressing his views. It does not cover under the freedom of expression. It is a clear incitement against the Muslim community and a challenge to the rule of law and the law enforcement authorities. He should have been already arrested and brought before the law of the country.<\/p>\n

\"courtesy<\/a>

Gnanasara – Photo courtesy Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka Facebook page<\/p><\/div>\n

His hate against the Muslim community in this instance is very clear. It has been clear even before and throughout his \u2018political career.\u2019 He is simply not a proper Buddhist monk in my opinion but a political activist with extremist views and intensions bordering on a fascist ideology and intent.<\/p>\n

Gnanasara is always an emotionally charged person often with the use of filthy language. These are clear signs of a fascist lineage. It is typical of a fascist propagandist to lie, distort or make a mountain out of a molehill. He has said \u201cFirst they threw rotten eggs at our teachers in Madawala, and then they tried to build a mosque which was taller than the height of the Dalada Maligawa.<\/em>\u201d Who has given him the sole authority to speak on behalf of the Sinhala people or the Buddhists? Even if he has genuine concerns about the said incidents (which I doubt\/dispute), threatening the Muslim community in general is not the way to resolve a dispute. The foremost place for Buddhism cannot be the height of the Dalada Maligawa!<\/p>\n

Promotion of Incitement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most alarming is his threat to enact the \u2018phase two of Aluthgama.\u2019 This is where his violent and fascist intent is very clear. After referring to possible \u2018intelligence officers\u2019 listening to his speech he said, \u201cgo and tell the authorities that if they don\u2019t give a solution to what we demand, we will launch the phase two of Aluthgama.<\/em>\u201d The demand he placed was to release the two young persons in remand who had apparently intimidated the Muslim businesses in the area to close down their shops during a protest. The said protest had apparently organized because of the \u2018pulling down of a Buddhist flag\u2019 by a Muslim youth which should also be condemned and consider provocative. However, this is not a recent incident but more of a pretext.<\/p>\n

In his speech, he not only attacked the Muslims but also the Tamils. In his speech, he didn\u2019t fail to recall the \u2018proverbial mother\u2019! If anyone has concerns about the people in custody, the right place to go is the courts and not the market place. He has always opted to disregard the laws and law enforcement authorities in the country. In addition to fascism, he also demonstrates a complex strand of anarchism. He cannot simply be considered as a proper Buddhist monk.<\/p>\n

His most alarming threat of violence was against the police. Referring to the IGP, he said, \u201cIf you can\u2019t handle them, tell us, we will take care of them. We only need about 50 people to take care of them, and we are not scared to go behind bars<\/em>.\u201d He was referring to the Mahiyangana police as \u2018them\u2019 and clearly threatening mob violence as he admitted it would place them behind bars. However, such a threat is sufficient enough to arrest him as a precaution and charge him against incitement.<\/p>\n

Why Not to Condemn All Monks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gnanasara\u2019s outburst, violence or fascism should not be a reason to condemn all Buddhist monks. He is in saffron robes, but he is not a proper Buddhist monk in my opinion. What is alarming however is he is flanked by several other \u2018Buddhist monks,\u2019 with or without knowing the gravity of what they do or utter. This is a matter to be untangled preferably within the Buddhist Sangha themselves. It is also apparent that Gnanasara is exploiting business enmities between different communities to promote his fascist cause and in this case at Mahiyangana.
\nIt is not unusual for the clergy of different religions or denominations to get involved in politics, extremist movements or even fascism. However, this cannot be considered \u2018healthy for religion or for politics.\u2019 Particularly in Hungary during the rise of Fascism in 1930s, there were numerous Catholic priests who went behind Szalasi\u2019s movement. Ference Szalasi was the leader of the Arrow Cross Party which was responsible for the killing and mayhem of thousands of Jews. This is just an example.<\/p>\n

This is also the case today of many Imams and other Islamic religious leaders supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). However, there are many other Imam\u2019s and leaders condemning or distancing themselves from ISIS. Sri Lanka is fortunate to have moderate or \u2018Abangan\u2019 Islamic believers and the government or the public should be mindful of not to push the youngsters to the extremes like in some Western countries which could create a virtual hell as a result of these religious polarizations. That is one reason why lawful action should be taken forthwith against Gnanasara and his gang.<\/p>\n

Cambodian Example<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the case of curtailing Buddhist monks going for politics or for extremist politics, there were prohibitions in the Cambodian constitution before 1975 forbidding Buddhist monks even in voting. I think it was influenced by the views of Prince Norodom Sihanouk of that time. However this position changed after the UN inspired new constitution in 1993 without any prohibition. Yet until 2006, the Buddhist Supreme Patriarchs (very much similar to our Sanga Nayakas) banned the Buddhist monks voting or even registering for voting, believing that the \u2018monks should not be biased.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, in recent times this has changed again. A good number of Buddhist monks are now involved in various social causes like human rights and peace. However, there are no organizations such as the BBS or the 969 Movement of Ashin Wirathu in Mynamar (Burma). This is despite the presence of numerous Cham Muslims or minority Vietnamese in Cambodia. Still the Cambodian Buddhist Supreme Patriarchs hold the moral authority to refrain their respective member monks getting involved in extremist politics or unacceptable ventures contrary to the\u00a0Buddhist principles. This is part of the Sangha Vinaya (discipline) fairly maintained in Cambodia.<\/p>\n

I am not at all advocating a constitutional prohibition of Buddhist monks or other priests getting involved in politics like in pre-1975 Cambodia. However, there should be some constraints within all religions or religious denominations of their clergy men or women getting involved in politics or extremist politics. The case of Gnanasara however is different. He is obviously a potential fascist, who can derail all the good intentions of reconciliation and peace in the country. He is apparently a law breaker and inciter who should be brought before the law.<\/p>\n

A Postscript<\/strong><\/p>\n

After finishing the above short peace, I had the occasion to watch an interview of Khaled Abol Naga, the prominent Egyptian actor, producer and the film director over the ABC 24 TV (Australia) this afternoon. When he was asked what he thinks about the reasons for many young people going for the cause of ISIS, he said that \u201cwhen you leave a small injustice unaddressed, the grievances become accumulated. That is what happened after the creation of Israel neglecting the Palestinians and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ISIS however is not the solution but the exacerbation of the problem,\u201d he emphasized. The reason he gave was very common to Buddhism, Christianity or Islam: \u201chatred begets hatred\u201d (Wairayen Wairaya Nosan Sinde<\/em>). This is why the rule of law should be administered, for Gnanasara or any other perpetrators, without any hatred or vengeance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":92325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-26T08:37:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-07-02T18:33:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"263\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/\",\"name\":\"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-26T08:37:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-02T18:33:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg\",\"width\":\"237\",\"height\":\"263\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Laksiri Fernando\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2016-06-26T08:37:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-07-02T18:33:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":237,"height":263,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/","name":"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-26T08:37:43+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-02T18:33:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg","width":"237","height":"263","caption":"Dr. Laksiri Fernando"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-fascist-danger-of-bbs-gnanasara\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Fascist Danger Of BBS Gnanasara"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Laksiri-Fernando.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164438"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164697,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164438\/revisions\/164697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}