by Chandi Sinnathurai
(June 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Among the many noises made in the post-war Sri Lanka one that is often neglected is the freedom to express one's faith as they wish within a pluralistic context. The anti-Conversion law in Sri Lanka has proven to be ever increasingly a quite worrying measure as the majority population begin to take this law into their own hands and act unthinkingly with gruesome violence. This has also sadly, it must be stressed played into the hands of the ultra-nationalist politico monks in the island. [(a) http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Anti-conversion-bill:-minorities-fear-restrictions-on-religious-freedom-14360.html ; (b) http://www.csw.org.uk/urgentactionsrilankaanticonversionbill.htm ]
The reality is violence against minority religious groups particularly against Christians has become an unstoppable growing trend for quite some time.
On 24 May 2011 there was debate at Westminster Hall on the treatment of Christians and of their persecution as a minority religion in certain developing countries. Robert Halfon MP made it very clear, among other speakers where Sri Lanka stands in this regard:
I could mention other nations, such as Sri Lanka , which has a particularly evil Government; indeed, I attended a memorial service for the Tamils last week in Trafalgar square. Sri Lanka has a tough anti-conversion law, and people there are not allowed to convert others to Christianity.
The tragedy of such stories is not how isolated they are, but how common they are. Nowhere is that truer than in the middle east. I am a senior officer of the all-party group on the Kurdistan region in Iraq. Earlier in the year, I went to Kurdistan, and I am going back there for three days next week. The all-party group's latest report on Kurdistan, which I helped to publish in March, states:“Iraq's Christians once numbered about 1.5 million. There are now just 850,000. Many families have fled to Kurdistan from Baghdad, Mosul and other areas, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The Kurds know much themselves about being a persecuted minority and have opened Kurdistan to Christians fleeing from the rest of Iraq. For example, their universities have offered free places to Christians fleeing Mosul.”
I met many Christians in Kurdistan. It has become a progressive Muslim nation that has provided sanctuary for Christians in Iraq who are being treated brutally.That was confirmed to me by the Archbishop of Erbil and the other Christians I met, and I hope to meet some more next week. [Read:http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2011-05-24a.221.1 ]
It is indeed sad that Sri Lanka as country is determined not learn lessons from its blood-soaked recent history and its appalling failings to promote meaningful peace and celebrating the diversity of other communities and cultures. Furthermore, it is tragic such violations are caused not by all , but by a vociferous group of monks who purport to follow the non-violent precepts of Gautama Buddha. This writer has met Therevada forest monks (primarily from Thai tradition) and Tibetan Lamas/Rinpoches in the context of meditation and multi-faith dialogue and they are profoundly disturbed by such tyranny.
This piece is NOT about the protection of Christians only. But its heart-felt concern is about all manner of faiths (or no faith) immaterial whether it is organised religion or not. Each person has their individual right to express what they believe and its the other person's prerogative to believe or not to believe. Faith cannot be legislated nor can it be constricted by some draconian law.
Such a state of affairs curtails freedom of expression, individual right and freedom to think for themselves. This is nothing but a crime against conscience.
That is of course, in the 21st century, a crying shame, to put it mildly.
Chandi Sinnathurai is a priest who writes on Tamil minority issues in Sri Lanka
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