From India to Sri Lanka, mobs are threatening violence and breaking laws, and getting placated with it. In Tamil Nadu mobs have been attacking and threatening Sri Lankan citizens and the state government responded by banning Sri Lankan cricketers from Chennai saying they couldn’t assure their physical safety. This flies in the face of all international and sportsmanlike norms, banning players based on their nationality. It’s really a shame to Tamil Nadu and India as a whole. Within Sri Lanka, of course, we’re not much better.
The Bodu Bala Sena and associated racist, corrupt Buddhist groups are threatening and attacking Muslims and Muslim businesses. In response the government has mostly capitulated, agreeing to a ban on halal labeling and having the Defence Secretary attend BBS events.
In all these cases they’re unleashing an irrational and potentially violent force that they really can’t control. It’s like both sides have learned nothing from history, Tamil Nadu and India from their coddling of the LTTE and Sri Lanka from its indulgence of reactionary monks. In both cases it ended with Prime Ministers dead or – more accurately – didn’t end there.
At the moment it’s political expedient for them to coddle these racist and divisive forces, but in the long run it’s a great threat to us all.
If you need to criticize about “Buddhist extremists”, well then i suggest you should learn about them. At least the names of the groups and associations among them.
For example two main groups, BBS and sinhala ravaya are not friends. Currently those two are engaged in a turf battle.
While BBS has announced that they are finished with the “Halal issue”, Sinhala Ravaya has not.
And from all those groups, BBS will be the least extremist one.
And a question, what do you suggest the government should do?
“what do you suggest the government should do?”
do something entirely alien to sinhalese culture- be objective: wrong is wrong, regardless of whether it is a buddhist or a hindu or christian or muslim that does it. Also, maybe stop using “deshadrohiya” on people who’re actually trying to help the country and use it on people who actually deserve it, like the BBS and SR. And fyi, the SR started out as an offshoot of the BBS- and also, you’ve fallen for the BBS’s story hook line and sinker: SR does have differences with the BBS, but it’s FAR from beyond Gnaanasara’s control.
Also, how about the government stop providing platforms for these people to speak and voice themselves? If they can shut down entire roads and bring out riot police for peaceful protests time and time again, why not use it on people like this when they spout this filth in places as sacred as Kandy? Why the double standards? Why is Gotabhaya acting as a patron to these lunatics?
I could go on, but judging you by that one inane question, I can safely assume my words will be wasted.
Now you really seems to have some bone to pick with MR and the gang and i suggest you pick it with them.
And do you really really think majority of people believe what the government says? Just because those idiots in the government call some one a”deshadrohiya” and every ones believe that.huh right? people will believe it if that some one acts like a one.
Did SR started as a offshoot of BBS? More likely SR started as response to BBS by the Hela Urumaya because BBS was invading HU turf. So it is basically a turf battle where each one tries to be the most “radical” one. And no i don’t really listen to the BBS media releases.
And while government associating with this crows is unhealthy, government can’t stop them from having meetings. Nor can they ban BBS or SR. This government can’t do it. Another democratically elected government under Ranil, Sajith or anyone else can’t and wont do it either.
Government must warn anyone who tries to create disharmony between the Lankan communities. If MR picks up the phone and give a warning to someone like the head of BBS, do you think BBS will continue to play havoc like they do now?
I am very disappointed at MR turning a blind eye to this as it can easily spark another 1983 in no time.
Why is it you think that MR can’t stop BBS rallies? People can’t have peace rallies without the govt going ape shit on them but hate rallies are ok?
And why can’t or won’t anyone stand up to organizations like BBS?
Because BBS has support among the populous (ok, Sinhalese Buddhist populace). Some of the points put forward by the BBS are real or they are accepted as real among the same populace. Since that group holds the majority of votes, (any democratic) governments tend not to antagonize them.
Not can’t. won’t. There is nothing stopping you from forming a anti-BBS. I believe there are many organizations who oppose BBS but for whatever reason they seem to keep their mouths shut.
Because BBS has support among the populous (ok, Sinhalese Buddhist populace). Some of the points put forward by the BBS are real or they are accepted as real among the same populace. Since that group holds the majority of votes, (any democratic) governments tend not to antagonize them.
Not can’t. won’t. There is nothing stopping you from forming a anti-BBS. I believe there are many organizations who oppose BBS but for whatever reason they seem to keep their mouths shut.
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Then MR would have a long list of people from TNA to some Muslim organizations to BBS to Hela Urumaya. And threats don’t go well with everyone.
If someone really needs to establish rational harmony then should establish rule of law (which MR is not clearly interested, Ranil will not have enough power, Sajith want be interested in and Fonseka don’t know the meaning of ).
BBS like organizations gather support by pointing out the occasions where Muslims gets the upper hand illegally like in east (as indi believes) and also in some other places too (which are not in east like Kuragala). And have to add that monks building illegal structures is also illegal.
The Government simply needs to apply the law.
Why were policemen standing idle while the place was attacked? Why is it, time and again that assault, trespass by these groups are never prosecuted? Because they have patronage from the top? See following for further info:
http://groundviews.org/2013/03/31/helping-the-police-arrest-brutish-monks-in-sri-lanka/
http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/19243
I kind of made that point when i said government should “establish rule of law”.
Any strict action against BBS will provoke the government to take actions against other religious people who are doing illegal things. I just don’t think the government want to be in that mess.
For example imagine the mess it would create if the government try to release (nearly 30 acres) the encroached land (supposed to be protected land) belonging to the “Muhudu maha vihiraya” archeological site.
Or the Kuragala historical site (also supposed to be protected) which now looks like this
http://sinhalabuddhist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/kuragala11.jpg
And about the two claims, (I know i could be wrong as Humphrey Belcher) wasn’t those two sites published articles saying that “greese yaka” was orchestrated by the government. However having sex with your local three-wheel drivers underage daughter could always cause problems regardless of your ethnicity or religion.
-who defines what this “deshadrohee behaviour” is? the govt. does. When the naming of a group, and the definition of who they are as a group is in the hands of the same people… well, it’s a case of “naduth hamuduruwonge, baduth hamuduruwonge”.
-“government can’t stop them from having meetings” again, you ignore my point about them using any and all means to stop protests that dont benefit (or indeed, directly harm) them! One could argue that they dare not interfere because this involves buddhist monks, but then there was that curious case of the sangha sammelanaya not too long ago, when the monks had to call it off due to “fears of violence”. This was coincidentally when the sangha were hinting that they were about to issue some kind of joint statement protesting various electoral abuses during the 2010 pres. elections done by the government.
Then there are the casse of many a peaceful protest that this government has ground to a halt using direct force, veiled threats or cartoonish villainry (like the time the road in front of sirikotha was suddenly closed for “repairs” just when the unp was planning some kind of protest march there). And yet you bleat on about the government being helpless in the face of the BBS. Please, my friend: my intelligence can only take so many insults- this is a country where only what is ‘halal’ for the Rajapakses is allowed.
-“Nor can they ban BBS or SR. This government can’t do it. Another democratically elected government under Ranil, Sajith or anyone else can’t and wont do it either.” Ah, here i agree with you. This is what happens when you dont maintain some kind of secular leadership in the country; there comes a point when anything done in the name of the majority has to be borne out of ‘respect’. As i said, we as a race, as a country, seem to lack objectivity.
And yes, i do have many a bone to pick with the Rajapakses. I take issue with you, gentleman sack, since you seem to be incapable of grasping the realities we face in the country.
What happens when the government declares a certain group of people “deshadrohee “? How does that affect those group of people?
You know making those kind of allegations and insults is what politicians do. “Deshadrohee” is a political statement. It does not have any legal binding.
and as I have already told you, just because the government politician tell that, does not mean that majority of people will believe it.
While a government will try to sabotage events that threaten its existence, BBS does not pose that kind of threat (at least, no immediate one).
And messing with monks is a messy affair. The “sangha sammelanaya” you talk about was directed at releasing Fonseka and if that went through, it would have been a crisis unlike any (since I can’t even remember a instance where that kind of a “sammelnaya” last went through). And if it went through the result would be more like ultimatum rather than a statement. And sabotaging that wasn’t easy. That took lot of political connections (to monks) and it did a certain damage to the governments image.
And i can’t imagine this or any another government playing a that kind of game with BBS (or others).
Because as i have pointed to others (above) BBS has a lot of support. Many would agree to some of the issues put forward by the BBS. And “Many” of those are people who may/are voting for the current government. And support of those “many” would be needed by anyone who is forming a new government.
And yeah the government blocked the road to sirikota that day. But doing that didn’t antagonize anyone. Ok it antagonized UNPrs (who hates ranil) but MR does not loose anything by antagonizing UNPrs (who hates ranil). Those people never liked MR and they never will either.
and as i have already said, you need to establish rule of law. That will solve many problems and BBS (and likes) will loose the points that they use to justify their dirty work.
I really don’t want to say anything about your last statement but gd luck with your bone picking with Rajapaksas.
The FTZ workers had support among the populous as well (as much as the fringe issues the BBS raises and you cite no evidence to show the BBS issues are supported by the majority of the Sinhalese). The difference is that those protests were about valid issues so the government dealt with them with force. The BBS issues are a smokescreen that help distract from the real issues so the government panders to them.
Since opinion polls has not been carried out about the FTZ or BBS, non one will be able to provide any evidence. However in my opinion (which i based on discussions i have had with people who will form MRs vote base) Let me just say that MR lost few votes due the FTZ fiasco.
But issues put forward by the BBS are supported by many. Whether they may agree on the BBS tactics is another matter.
Before using force with BBS the government needs to solve the most pressing issues put forward by the BBS (some would create messes as i have mentioned elsewhere).
Well, it looks like one extremist mob hell bent on trying to get a certain song taken of a certain website, got knocked down. They huffed, and puffed but the house didn’t come down.
What are these pressing issues?
It’s somewhat hilarious though, isn’t it? Some religious apologists say that even if religions are totally crap at accurately modelling reality, they still have a calming effect. Well, obviously they don’t.
Anyway, as I’ve said previously, getting rid of halal was just plain dumb. Boycotting Muslim shops is less stupid, because at least you hurt the people you want to hurt. But that too has an economic cost. They are paying more for lower quality goods. (By the way, if you’re a sinhalese businessman, you’d be a moron to not exploit the situation. CIB must be loving this cool racist thing that’s going on)
Trying to prevent cricketers from playing in IPL, that’s just plain stupid.
Clearing some historical sites which has been “taken over”.
Take action against imposters who pose as monks.
Would be a start.
Both Jayalalitha and MR are playing the race card to their respective masses so the real pressing issues can be shrugged under the carpet. Both are seasoned politicians who want to be seen as the saviour of their respective races. They maybe good politicians, but certainly not good leaders.
Guess politicians goons raiding sacred sites for ‘treasure’ and monks abusing children and running businesses are not such pressing issues. Not to mention of course the other pressing issues most Sri Lankans face such as living costs, educating kids, transport, etc, etc.
My most pressing and utterly distressing issue of today:
The suspects of the Kotaketana murder (of a mother and daughter, and what police said were additional murders to cover up the motive for this crime), PS member and a co-ordinating secretary or somesuch to minister John Seneviratne, have been released through an order given to the magistrate by the Attorney General??? Unbelievable!
@sack
I don’t know who you are, but you are a moron. Here’s why.
//And a question, what do you suggest the government should do?//
How about not releasing the yellow robed pricks who violently attacked Fashion Bug, as soon as they were arrested, saying the matter was settled?
The government cannot (well, the MR government can do whatever it wants to do) and shouldn’t stop BBS or SR from meeting. They shouldn’t stop young Tamil university students in Jaffna holding meetings either. But what they can do is cracking down on those who say stuff that are considered incitement to violence. They don’t let JVP pricks to violently overthrow the government. They shouldn’t let a robed prick to threaten cricketers with violence. You can say or whatever you like. You can insult anyone for all you want (as long as you don’t defame a living person). But you don’t get to do violence or incite to it. And it doesn’t matter if SR has the support of 99% of the populace. There are things that are more important than democracy.
//Just because those idiots in the government call some one a”deshadrohiya” and every ones believe that.huh right? people will believe it if that some one acts like a one.//
No, people are morons, and they’d believe whatever the government tells them. You call Ranil a deshadhrohiya and those morons who haven’t even read a single line of the ceasefire agreement go ahead and vote against him. You tell them that soldiers are heroes and we need to respect them, the morons start worshipping them and make songs about them. It was all fake. Otherwise it wouldn’t have disappeared one and half years after the war.
That is exactly what’s happening right now. Some sexless monks are telling them that halal is bad and they get fired up. They didn’t give a shit about halal just a year ago and now they suddenly find it objectionable.
The rise of Islam is obviously a threat to everything that’s not Islamic. But those who attack Fashion Bug or try to get halal banned just have their heads up their asses and think that’s where the problem is.
//And from all those groups, BBS will be the least extremist one.//
That’s just dumb. That’s like saying SLFP and UNP have policy differences. They both just do what’s popular at the moment. If history is popular right now, sell it. If privatization popular right now, do it.
BBS and SR want to be cults, and over time they can only become more extreme. They are both exploiting the stupidity of extreme religious right. Cults that are not extreme just can’t survive. BBS isn’t any less racist than SR. They are just behind
I agree the Muslim take-over of Buddhist sites needs to be addressed. What has happened in Kuragala is a shame.
Well, if those issues matter a lot to you Realist, why don’t you raise your voice and protest against them? Why do you expect everyone else to do it for you? Others will speak out about what is important to them and you speak out about what is important to you. No one is stopping you from making a few placards and demonstrating outside the Fort Railway Station or from going house to house and gaining support for your ’cause’. Good luck.
As usual jujubes, when you don’t have a valid point, you bluster. Next you’ll be asking me what I was doing when the bombs were going off in Colombo and why I wasn’t protesting then. You spend far too much time in the well.
Talking about bluster, I’m not the one who ran away from the discussion Realist.
Clearly you don’t feel strongly enough about the issues you mention, you just bring them out to try and go one-up on who you are arguing with. Instead of actually putting your money where your mouth is, you want others to do the protesting for you. Why? Why don’t you get out on the streets with like minded people and do your bit about the issues that YOU seem to care so much about? Here’s your great chance to voice your opinion about living costs, educating kids, transport etc. If others want to protest about historical sites that have been taken over, they have all the rights to do so.
And if Tasty were to ask me why I was not voicing my concern out on the streets and getting others to join me in it, I’d say it’s because none of us are such fools when it’sstill a case of “naduth hamuduruwange, baduth hamuduruwange”. But if things go on this way, it will happen, sooner or later.
Also, we do have lives of our own, which demand our time and attention. My little baby girl passed her OLs with 8As and a B, with not a day of private tuition. So today, a big part of me is over the moon about that :D.
I may use this opportunity to say, jujubes, you’re a moron. Of course realist is a moron too, but you are out moron-ing him.
The point I am trying to make is BBS must be having the comfort factor that MR nor his brothers will come down hard on them. Remember what happened with Mervyn? As far as he knew MR didn’t mind, he played havok. The moment he intervened, the fellow is nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, MR seem to have that kind of power over other parties too….
“pressing issues” i am talking about here are are “pressing issues put forward by the BBS”.
But the things you have suggested are valid pressing issues for almost all Buddhists.
When usually a matter is settled that happens. perpetrators do get released.
And i feel the government wanted to quietly and quickly settle the whole issue. And that does not mean that government sponsors the perpetrators.
The government want allow BBS or SR to violently overthrow the government either. And is “throwing rotten eggs” a threat? Reading the news articles, it does not sound very violent threatening type to me.
And people didn’t put Ranil in the category of “deshadrohia” because he signed the ceasefire agreement. Things like the Millennium city incident and incidents (mainly LTTE doings) after the agreement put him there.
I personally don’t think Ranil is in the category. I just think that Ranil wanted peace at whatever the cost and whatever the intentions of the opposing party (intentions of the opposing party are important. prabhakaran didn’t want anything less than a country. He did not understood politics or Geo politics. Forcing him to compromise has high potential to fail).
The government, the opposition and various people with mostly business intentions made the songs and daily television programs about the military. And while a war is going on, its important to do that.
But Military personal are usually respected within the society.
And then there are those who hates them for various reasons. Those guys may have kept their mouths temporarily shut during the 2009 period.
I think i made a mistake when i said “And from all those groups, BBS will be the least extremist one”
What i tried say was that “BBS seems to be the”. Who would be the most extremist one would be anyone’s guess.
Are BBS or SR cults? I don’t know and don’t care about the category they fall in. But they seems to be like brawn before brains organizations to me.
About the “moron” thing, i wondering when you were going to bestow that honorary title on me. But i must decline.
When usually a matter is settled that happens. perpetrators do get released.
And i feel the government wanted to quietly and quickly settle the whole issue. And that does not mean that government sponsors the perpetrators.
The government want allow BBS or SR to violently overthrow the government either. And is “throwing rotten eggs” a threat? Reading the news articles, it does not sound very violent threatening type to me.
And people didn’t put Ranil in the category of “deshadrohia” because he signed the ceasefire agreement. Things like the Millennium city incident and incidents (mainly LTTE doings) after the agreement put him there.
I personally don’t think Ranil is in the category. I just think that Ranil wanted peace at whatever the cost and whatever the intentions of the opposing party (intentions of the opposing party are important. prabhakaran didn’t want anything less than a country. He did not understood politics or Geo politics. Forcing him to compromise has high potential to fail).
The government, the opposition and various people with mostly business intentions made the songs and daily television programs about the military. And while a war is going on, its important to do that.
But Military personal are usually respected within the society.
And then there are those who hates them for various reasons. Those guys may have kept their mouths temporarily shut during the 2009 period.
I think i made a mistake when i said “And from all those groups, BBS will be the least extremist one”
What i tried say was that “BBS seems to be the”. Who would be the most extremist one would be anyone’s guess.
Are BBS or SR cults? I don’t know and don’t care about the category they fall in. But they seems to be like brawn before brains organizations to me.
About the “moron” thing, i wondering when you were going to bestow that honorary title on me. But i must decline.
@Tania:
Mervin is hugely unpopular guy in Sri Lanka and most Sri Lankans (irrespective of religion, ethnicity or political affiliation) will be happy to get rid of him and his brood.
And considering his rap sheet i don’t think MR has come hard on him.
BBS is another story.
@Tania:
Mervin is hugely unpopular guy in Sri Lanka and most Sri Lankans (irrespective of religion, ethnicity or political affiliation) will be happy to get rid of him and his brood.
And considering his “rap sheet” i don’t think MR has come hard on him.
BBS is another story.
@Realist:
“pressing issues” i am talking about here are “pressing issues put forward by the BBS”.
But the things you have suggested are valid pressing issues for almost all Buddhists.