Attacks In Aluthgama And Beruwala

| The following statement issued by the Law &

Society Trust, a civil society initiative based in Colombo
( June 2, 2!"#, Colombo, Sri Lan$a %uardian& Law & Society Trust ( LST& is gravely
concerned over the events that occurred in 'luthgama and (eruwala this wee$end) *ollowing a
(uddhist meeting held in 'luthgama on Sunday June "+th, incidents of violence against
,uslims and ,uslim owned homes and businesses occurred) -t has been re.orted that at least
,uslims have died of gunshot wounds, while /0 others have been seriously in1ured in the
violence") -n addition at least nine sho.s and u. to #! houses have been gutted in 'luthgama,
while three mos2ues were attac$ed)2
3nder the Sri Lan$an constitution, all minorities are .rotected from discrimination and
violence) 3nder cha.ter --- of the Constitution (*undamental 4ights&, 'rticle "! states that
56very .erson is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom
to have or to ado.t a religion or belief of his choice)7 3nder this article, ,uslims and
Christians, who ma$e u. about "!8 of the .o.ulation, are .rotected from discrimination based
on their religion) *urthermore, the Constitution, under Cha.ter ---, 'rticle "2("& states, 5'll
.ersons are e2ual before the law and are entitled to the e2ual .rotection of the law)7 This means
that those (uddhist and ,uslim e9tremists res.onsible for inciting the violence, looting, and
$illing, must be held accountable for their actions) :hile the Constitution of Sri Lan$a, which
is stated as the 5Su.reme Law7 of the ;emocratic Socialist 4e.ublic of Sri Lan$a, .rotects the
many minorities of the country, the im.lementation of these fundamental rights, or lac$ thereof,
has been critici<ed by many within and outside the country) 3nder the Constitution, the
government is legally re2uired to ma$e sure that those who committed these actions in
'luthgama and (eruwela are brought to 1ustice)
Sri Lan$a ratified the 3nited =ations -nternational Convention on the 6limination of 4acial
;iscrimination on "0th *ebruary ">02, and it entered into force on 2!th ,arch ">02) 3.on
ratifying the convention Sri Lan$an government was legally bound to .rotect and enhance the
rights for all citi<ens, including .eo.le belonging to minority grou.s) :hile this signing of an
international document is significant, li$e the Constitution, im.lementation of the elements of
this convention has been random and at the will of the government) 3= Secretary?%eneral, (an
@i?moon has e9.ressed his concern on the communal violence that eru.ted in Southern Sri
Lan$a, and has urged the Sri Lan$an %overnment to ta$e necessary measures to ensure the
safety of all Sri Lan$ans) The Secretary?%eneral recalled the Auman 4ights Council 4esolution
(A4C2+BL"B4ev)"& on Sri Lan$a that urges the %overnment to investigate alleged attac$s on
members of religious minority grou.s)# The Sri Lan$an government has categorically denied
the im.lementation of the Auman 4ights Council 4esolution saying that it is an infringement
of state sovereignty) :hile Sri Lan$a has a commitment to .rotect the minorities within its
borders under domestic and international law, it is clear from history as well as the multi.le
attac$s in the .ast two years, that the government is only committed to .rotecting minorities on
.a.er, not through action)
This is most clearly demonstrated by the res.onse of Cresident 4a1a.a$sa, who has issued
statements through his twitter account) Dn June "+th he tweeted 5The %overnment will not
allow anyone to ta$e the law into their own hands) - urge all .arties concerned to act in
restraint) 'n investigation will be held for law to ta$e its course of action to bring to boo$ those
res.onsible for incidents in 'luthgama)7+ This incident of violence, that has been called the
worst in recent history, seemingly has not been met with much concern) There needs to be
com.lete condemnation of the hate s.eech and violent actions made by (uddhist e9tremists in
order for minorities within the country to feel .rotected)
The violence against religious minorities is not new to Sri Lan$a, although this incident is
thought to be one of the worst in recent history) *or the .ast two years violence against ,uslim
and Christian minorities has been increasing, but there has been little action against the
(uddhist e9tremists by the government)
(uddhist e9tremists have been re.orted to have attac$ed a number of ,uslim?owned
commercial establishments, and agitated against certain religious .ractices, including the halal
system of slaughtering animals for consum.tion by ,uslimsE) Dn Se.tember "!th, 2!""
mon$s attac$ed a ,uslim shrine in 'nuradha.ura/, on '.ril 2!th, 2!"2 a mob stormed a
;ambulla ,os2ue, and then in July of 2!", a mob attac$ed a Colombo mos2ue0, and there
was another attac$ carried out on a mos2ue in %rand.ass on 'ugust "!th, 2!") =) ,) 'meen,
.resident of Sri Lan$a ,uslim Council, said more than 2! mos2ues had been attac$ed between
2!"2 and 2!">)
:hile government statements condemn the e9tremists, actions to hold them accountable, has
been limited)
,edia re.orts within the country, as well as statements made by non?,uslim government
officials ma$e the lootings and deaths out to be minor incidences) (y using Twitter as the only
means of communicating their concern over the violence, the government has limited the
audience of the statement, as well as the seriousness of the attac$s) (y not even giving an
official statement, the government shows that it has conflicting .olitical concerns about holding
those guilty of violence accountable for their actions) -f they were to allow an inde.endent
investigation to ta$e .lace within Sri Lan$a on the crimes against all minorities within the
country, it would show its willingness to .rotect these .eo.le) Fiolence by any religion in Sri
Lan$a is unacce.table and it is u. to the .eo.le of the country to ma$e sure that the
government holds all those who threaten .eace and safety accountable for their actions)