By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A mob of Buddhists attacked a mosque last night in Sri Lanka’s capital, injuring 12. This is the latest in a string of attacks against the minority Muslim community in the region.
A mob of Buddhists, who are mainly ethnic Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, threw stones at the three-story mosque and nearby houses in Colombo during evening prayers on Saturday. Hundreds of Muslim residents took to the streets, to prevent further attacks in their community.
“Support the police to maintain the law and order,” Inspector General of Police N.K. Ilangakoon told state media. There has been mounting violence against Muslims in Sri Lanka since last year, closely mirroring events in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which has seen its own surge of attacks by members of the majority community against Muslims. In Myanmar, extremist Buddhist monks have been at the forefront of these violent campaigns against Muslims.
In Sri Lanka, the group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or the “Buddhist power force”, has been trying to win over Buddhists with their anti-Muslim platform. A spokesman for the BBS, Dilantha Vithanage, denied any involvement by his organisation in the latest mosque attack.
Buddhists make up about 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20.3 million population, while Muslims make up just 9 percent. The mosque damaged in the attack was only built a month ago after hardline Buddhists forced a nearby mosque to close.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo said the incident was particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. “Targeting any place of worship should never be permitted and we urge calm from all sides. We call for prosecution of perpetrators in this attack and an end to religious-based violence,” the embassy said in its official statement. N M Ameen, president of Sri Lanka’s Muslim Council, said more than 20 mosques have been attacked since last year.
In a distinct incident, a hand grenade was thrown at a Buddhist temple in the Jaffna peninsula, on the northern tip of the island. There were no injuries reported. Jaffna is largely made of ethnic minority Tamil people, most of whom are Hindu and Christian. The area was fiercely contested in a 26-year war between government forces and Tamil separatists that ended in 2009. The longstanding unrest has left the entire region a powder keg for religious and ethnic tensions.
For more information, please see:
Reuters — Buddhist mob attacks Sri Lankan mosque, 12 injured — 11 August 2013
BBC — Sri Lanka Buddhist mob attacks Colombo mosque — 11 August 2013
Al Jazeera — Colombo mosque attack stirs tensions — 11 August 2013
Hindustan Times — Buddhist mob attacks Colombo mosque, 12 injured — 11 August 2013
