Sri Lanka: On that Slap

The attacker called the police and ordered them what to do next

by Rufus Randeniya

A Buddhist priest slapped a man while talking in close proximity. Victim's eyeglasses went flying. Thousands of Facebook fans witnessed this callous attack and it is gone viral instantly. Not only our country f/b fans but this attack has also been viewed by millions of international f/b fans and Christian organisations all over the world are expressing their displeasure on this incident which the Sri Lankan govt., is ignoring. The attacker called the police and ordered them what to do next.

In civilized countries, no one including police are allowed to attack someone. This was well proved in the case of the former IGP who manhandled an employee. Unfortunately, the priest involved in this scenario seems unaffected by the law. Rulers must do something in this regard before the Buddhist establishments functioning in many western countries with no resistance could face repercussion. We have two Buddhist temples in our neighbourhood and the Americans respect them and their activities. Here the Buddhist temples are mushrooming and we see some houses flying Buddhist flags turn temples conveniently with no resistance from anyone. Don't we see this freedom which the constitution of the country declares? I see Hare Rama Hare Krishna groups sing softly at the railway stations with enchanting music played by them. Sitting at the exit gates, they at pleasant feelings to rushing passengers. The world tolerates different cultures, strange religions and uncommon costumes while narrow-minded people who are not exposed to everything out of their wells resist for the sake of resisting.

Pope was yanked rudely by a woman in the excited crowd and his annoyed reaction was a slap on her face. This happened yesterday. Then upon realizing what he did impulsively, he made a public apology. Sadly, we don't see our slapping priest apologising at all. I do not know the Christian party who had gone to the area of this priest and they should have gone away dusting their feet. Christian places are under obligation to tell the good news of the salvation of Jesus but not in places where they are not welcome.