S. Lanka should Safeguard Ethnic, Religious Harmony

Date: 07 March 2018 - 21:31

News ID: ۵۰۹۰۷

By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
Sri Lanka, with its greenery and unique shape, sits like an emerald island in the Indian Ocean off the tip of the Subcontinent.
It has been called "Sarandeeb” in Islamic texts and is said to be the place where Adam the Father of the human race, was lowered on Planet Earth by the command of God Almighty after having eaten of the forbidden fruit of paradise.
The island has a mountain called Adam’s Peak, while the small islets to its north towards the southern tip of India were known until recently as "Adam’s Bridge”, to indicate that the first man crossed into India and proceeded towards what is now West Asia.
It is thus unfortunate to learn about the recent riots in this island state, where the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, said to be peaceful, have gone on communal rampage in some parts, especially against Muslims, who for the past millennium have lived peaceably in Sri Lanka.
As a result a state of emergency has been declared across the island for the first time since the end of its bloody and protracted civil war between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
Moreover, curfew has been clamped on two towns in Kandy District, after several days of violence targeting members of the Muslim community, whose homes have been vandalized and mosques desecrated.
These unfortunate incidents occurred when militant Buddhist mobs swept through towns and villages, beating up Muslims, damaging their shops and committing reprehensible acts against them.
This outbreak of violence is unwarranted, and it is hoped President Maithripal Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will take due measures to end it, if not the country’s thriving tourism industry will suffer.
The riots seem to be organized violence, and the government ought to probe their cause, especially the hidden hands behind the campaign of hatred against its Muslim citizens. Definitely certain regimes, especially the Zionist entity, could have a hand in this violence.
This requires the government to be extra careful of the intentions of the Israelis, who had poured in massive arms to the Tamil Tigers during the civil war to worsen the crisis, but failed. The Zionists might take revenge, and friendship or diplomatic ties with them is dangerous.
The US might also be involved, in view of China’s fast developing relations with Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka should not allow militant Buddhists to turn the country into another Myanmar where the native Burmese Muslims are the victims of genocide.
Whatever the cause, Colombo should take due steps safeguard ethnic and religious harmony on the island where for centuries the Sinhalese, Tamils, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims have peacefully flourished.
Hopefully, a quick solution will be found without giving outside forces to fish in dirty waters.