President asks Buddhist group not to arouse ethnic tensions in the country

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday stressed that acts aimed at creating ethnic discord among communities and inciting violence in the country will not be permitted under any circumstance.

The President made this stance when he met five Buddhist monks representing the controversial Buddhist activist group Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force) of Sri Lanka today at the Temple Trees to discuss a range of issues.

During the meeting the group discussed a number of problems the majority Sinhala Buddhist community is facing and the current dispute between the some Muslim and Buddhist groups in the country.

One major issue the organization raised was the Halal Certification process for businesses and the President and the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa explained the process in detail and the reasons for the businesses to use the certification.

President Rajapaksa while stressing that acts aimed at breaching the goodwill and the harmony between ethnicities will not be allowed under any circumstance, urged the group to help maintain the ethnic harmony in the country and not to arouse communal feelings.

The Bodu Bala Sena organization is accused of inciting and organizing violence against Muslims in the country and has been criticized by moderate Buddhist organizations and leading Buddhist monks in the country.

The Buddhist monks’ group led by Kirama Vimalajothi Nayaka Thero with Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero and Vitharandeniye Nanda Thero however, claimed that there are other extremist groups, which create violence using the organization’s name for their own political agenda and the Bodu Bala Sena does not condone such acts of belittling other religions and inciting violence.

Provincial council minister Udaya Gammanpila, who further detailed the problem with duplicate groups, reiterated the importance of inter-religious harmony. Condemning the recent incident that insulted the Islamic religion with the photograph of a swine, Minister Gammanpila said, "Just as we love our religion, they love their religion."

Priests form the Bodu Bala Sena added that they too do not condone such behavior. Referring to the protest in front of the Nolimit store in Maharagama, one of the Buddhists priests said, "We said don't do it. It's not good for Buddhism or the country. Let's fix problems within our own religion. Let's learn from the Muslim community and their discipline."

Before the discussion ended, President Rajapaksa once again repeated his request for Buddhist priests to help maintain ethnic and religious harmony in the country. "It is OK to work to strengthen the Buddhist religion, but it should be done without creating conflicts with other religions," President Rajapaksa said.

Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Petroleum Industries Susil Premajayantha, Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardena, Provincial Minister Udaya Gammanpila, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Chief-of-Staff Gamini Senarath were also present at the discussion.