Online petition to halt harassment of minorities gathers steam

By Cheranka Mendis

Over 1,500 persons have signed a petition circulating online via Facebook a day after it was introduced, calling on President Mahinda Rajapaksa to take action to stop incidents of harassment against minorities.

The petition calls on people to join the movement to make Sri Lanka a safer place for all its citizens and to prevent hate speech and hate acts from taking away civil liberties and national peace, emphasising that “no matter what race or religion, we are all Sri Lankan”.

The petition page on Facebook is titled ‘Sign here: No more hate in Sri Lanka, Mr. President’ and urges the President to “protect the liberties of Sri Lanka’s minorities and defend their interests against hate speech and hate acts such as those committed by the Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya and other such hate groups”.

The petition goes on to state:

“We urge Your Excellency to consider the following in order to stem the rising tide of anti Muslim extremism in the country:

Take decisive action by publicly condemning the hate campaign of Buddhist extremists/hate groups.

Continue to proclaim publicly that the minorities are equal citizens and equitable stakeholders in the country.

Instruct the Police to take necessary action to stop incidents of harassment against minorities and their businesses.

Declare it a criminal offence for hate groups to utilise Police forces. Publicly declare it a criminal offence for hate groups to conduct State-unauthorised raids into houses and take action against perpetrators of such raids.

Empower the Police to respond to instances where such forces try to take the law in to their own hands.

Ensure that the authorities take action against the media when they contribute to the propagation of this hate sentiment.

Diffuse the tension around the Halal issue by either empowering the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) to continue to offer the certification, or by mandating a Government institution to engage in the process (given that the certification is most necessary to maintain our export markets).”