Tag: Bodu Bala Sena

Sri Lanka: over 20 attacks on Christians this year

June 13, 2017 Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Maithripala Sirisena

There have been over 20 violent incidents against Christians so far this year, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Following a parallel surge in violent attacks on Muslims in the country, the alliance calls on the government to ensure the protection of minorities and their places of worship. . . . Read More

Thai Buddhist calls for action against nationalism

February 17, 2017 Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Ma Ba Tha, Myanmar, Rohingya, Sri Lanka, Thailand

A Thai Buddhist has called for Buddhist-majority countries like Thailand to halt the rise of nationalism, intolerance and hate speech. “It’s very dangerous, much more dangerous than weapons,” said Sulak Sivaraksa during a recent panel discussion on the Channel NewsAsia programme Between The Lines. As World Watch Monitor reported in . . . Read More

‘Peaceful’ Buddhism’s violent face in Sri Lanka

October 10, 2016 Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Maithripala Sirisena

Image, ‘Buddha in front of wood fence,’ by Harminder Dhesi, 2010 CC License Thanks to its promotion by figures from Hollywood (Richard Gere) and Silicon Valley (Steve Jobs), Buddhism in the West presents a ‘peaceful’ face. Yet Christians in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, as well as other minority religions, see things . . . Read More

Minorities fear backlash over Sri Lanka’s proposed new constitution

January 27, 2016 Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Constitution, Maithripala Sirisena

Sri Lanka’s minority religious groups are concerned after Buddhist hardliners reacted angrily to the President’s proposed new constitution. President Maithripala Sirisena’s new constitution, proposed on 9 Jan., would decentralise power in a bid to prevent ethnic tensions in the country, but Buddhist hardliners say it contains provisions that regulate the . . . Read More

All eyes on Sri Lanka as Commonwealth summit begins

November 15, 2013 Sri Lanka Anti-conversion law, Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Colombo, Commonwealth, Human rights

Sri Lanka’s human rights record has been questioned as a Commonwealth summit takes place in Colombo. Several Commonwealth leaders have boycotted the event, while British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to ask “tough questions” of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One of his lines of questioning may focus on . . . Read More

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