Sri Lanka : Christians take to the streets for religious freedom
Colombo, January 30, 2014: The Sri Lankan Christians, of all denominations, marched
through the streets of the capital Colombo to protest against the attacks carried
out lately by Buddhist extremists and for the lack of protection of religious freedom.
As reported to Fides by local sources, over 2,000 faithful took to the streets in
Colombo on Sunday. Attacks were carried out by Buddhists on January 12 against two
churches and a center of Christian prayer. The center of prayer, belonging to the
"Gospel Church" in Pitipana, near Colombo, was set on fire while the other two attacks
- with damage to the furniture and stained glass windows and the burning of Bibles
– was carried out against a church of the "Assembly of God" a "Church of Calvary"
in the southern coastal town of Hikkaduwa.
According to the police, 24 suspects
were identified and arrested. Among these, 18 will be tried by a court of Galle, near
Hikkaduwa. The group includes 5 Buddhist monks.
Last Sunday in all Christian
churches the demand for respect for religious freedom was raised. The Anglican Bishop
Msg. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, speaking to the faithful at the Cathedral of Christ the
Saviour in Colombo, reiterated that it is the government's responsibility to ensure
that Christian citizens have full enjoyment of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the
Constitution: "Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and association should be
the prerogative of all religious communities", he said, adding: "We expect the protection
of the rule of law".
In a note sent to Fides, the "National Christian Evangelical
Alliance" of Sri Lanka contains several minor incidents of the same kind, which occurred
in January, such as threats, warnings, small acts of violence against priests, vandalism.
In
a country where the large majority are Buddhists, Christian minorities are about 7%,
Muslims 10%, Hindus about 13%.