April 19, 2012: Prime Minister M Jayaratne called on religious leaders earlier this
week to prevent what he called unethical conversions that threaten peace and stability
in the country. “Some groups are trying to gain personal benefits and spending a large
amount of money to launch their projects,” he said in an address in Colombo on April
17 to leaders from Buddhist, Catholic, Islamic and Hindu communities. “There is
no space for such fundamentalists to make their efforts successful,” said Jayaratne,
who also serves as minister of religious affairs. He added that the government had
revoked the visas of several international religious organizations, including some
American sects, he said were engaged in unethical conversions. Jayaratne further proposed
the establishment of a commission headed by representatives of various faiths that
would agree on a plan to prevent unwanted proselytizing. Venerable Medagama Dharamananda
Thero, a Buddhist monk who attended the meeting, said the issue of conversions had
become a crisis that needed to be addressed immediately. Father Ivan Perera, episcopal
vicar of the Archdiocese of Colombo, said cooperation between all faiths was the key
to tackling the issue of conversions. “All religions have coexisted peacefully in
this country for years until recent times, where a few evangelical groups make conversions,”
he said. He further noted the importance of distinguishing between mainstream churches
and fundamentalist sects. However one evangelical pastor dismissed charges often
leveled at certain groups that they pay people to convert and said evangelization
was a key aspect of his faith. “We cannot stop our evangelical work in the country.
We spread the good news to the people and God always blesses our work, which is evangelization,
said Pastor Darshan, head of the People’s Church.