Although Buddhists are themeselves anti-Christians, and therefore do not need instigation to persecute Christians where they (Buddhists) dominate politically, it remains a fact that the Hindu "Sangh Parivar" has been fanning across the globe instigating various groups, sects and cults, such as the Buddhist communities worldwide, to persecute Christians where possible. This is yet another of the same. The following message was forwarded to me by a person who received it from Lefebvrists who received it from Protestants.
Some 20 years or so back, Sinhala Buddhist imperialism and colonialism against the homelands of other ethnic native peoples of the island and poggroms directed against these communities in the capital catalyzed the Tamil War of Independence, bravely carried out even till now by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam against the might of Sinhala terrorism aided and abetted by India and the U.S.A. With all the powers behind it, Ceylon, determined to commit state-suicide, will assuredly be torn asunder by its aggravations!
See also this page: http://www.tamilcanadian.com/pageview.php?ID=3509.1
— Lúcio]
From: David and Jasmine Trask
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 11:19:21 -0700
Subject: Urgent Prayer Request for Sri Lanka — more info.
Please pray for Sri Lanka. If this Anti-Conversion Bill is placed in effect, the Catholics will be greatly persecuted.
Please note: Some Catholic churches have already been torched in this country.
There is a traditional Catholic community (SSPX) in Sri Lanka; please pray for them especially that they may have the courage to persevere in defending the true Catholic Faith.
The source of the article below: http://www.win1040.com/currentprayer/a0000547.cfm
The link to the draft of the actual Anti-Conversion bill: http://persecution.net/news/srilanka_law.html
Buddhists Push "Anti-Conversion" Bills Before November Presidential Elections
WIN Emergency Prayer Alert
Christians worldwide are needed to intercede for Sri Lanka after more than 1,000 Buddhist monks recently staged a protest in the predominantly Buddhist country, asking that anti-conversion legislation be put back on the parliamentary agenda before presidential elections scheduled for Thursday, November 17.
Two anti-conversion bills — one proposed by the Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU or National Heritage Party) — were presented to parliament earlier this year, but were put on hold, Compass Direct reported.
The JHU bill called for prison sentences of up to five years and/or a stiff fine for anyone found guilty of converting others "by force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means." It also encouraged members of the public to report cases of suspected forced conversion.
Monks from the JHU played a key role in the September 20 protest march and rally in Colombo, the nation's capital. However, the JHU has now dropped its demands for presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse, currently prime minister of Sri Lanka, to push the anti-conversion agenda forward before the elections.
The JHU signed a deal with Rajapakse earlier this month promising electoral support in return for a more aggressive approach to negotiations with the LTTE, a rebel group that has fought for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983.
JHU leader Athuraliye Rathna Thero told the daily "Colombo Page" that his party had "decided to withdraw its [anti-conversion bill], as the threat of conversion to other religions will not exist when Prime Minister Rajapakse becomes president."
Rajapakse traveled to Kandy, the Buddhist capital of Sri Lanka, to sign the deal outside the Temple of the Tooth, an important religious landmark. He knelt down before JHU chief monk Ellawala Medananda to formally accept his copy of the agreement, before entering the temple with Medananda to observe Buddhist religious rites.
In July, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed concern about growing religious intolerance in Sri Lanka, Compass reported. The commission claimed the JHU bill would "fall short of international standards with regard to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief."
The commission urged the Sri Lankan government to refrain from passing laws that were "inconsistent with international standards." In response, the JHU sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador Jeffry Lunstead in early August, condemning the United States' stand on the anti-conversion bill.
The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka recorded more than 170 attacks on Christian individuals or institutions between January 2003 and January 2005. In many of these incidents, Buddhist monks were present and played a leading role.
The violence has continued this year. Most recently, a Foursquare Gospel church in Horana, located in the Kalutara district, was ordered to close after a Buddhist mob threatened worshipers at Sunday services on July 31 and August 7. The police accepted that the church had a constitutional right to meet together but ordered the meetings to stop, as they had supposedly provoked a "disturbance of the peace." Church members were ordered not to meet for worship in any other location.
In July, a Roman Catholic church in Patunagama was attacked during the night and set on fire. A second Catholic church in Pulasthigama was torched in broad daylight on July 16. Unidentified extremists also planted explosives outside the Christian Family Church in Kayankerny, located in the Batticaloa district, in the early hours of July 7, causing severe damage to the newly-built church, Compass reported.
Christians constitute about 8 percent of this prominently Buddhist country's 19.7 million people, 70 percent of whom are Buddhists. According to Operation World, with Christianity growing by more than 11 percent a year, Christians have come under increased persecution. END.
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