Sri Lanka government moves
to control Sinhala-Muslim tensions by declaring emergency
R Hariharan |Edit Page | Times of India| March 8, 2018
President Maithripala Sirisena has declared a
nationwide state of emergency for 10 days, after rioting mobs destroyed Muslim
houses and businesses in the Digana and Teldeniya areas in Kandy on March 4.
Sinhala-Muslim relations have always been on a short fuse. In such
confrontations, both the administration and the police have invariably been
accused of acting in a partisan way. The Kandy riots also appear to conform to
this pattern, though an inquiry is underway.
The communal situation had been simmering in Teldeniya after a
local Buddhist was seriously injured on February 22, in a confrontation with
Muslim youth after a car accident. Local Sinhala and Muslim elders intervened
and amicably settled the matter, paying compensation to the victim.
However, after the injured man succumbed to his injuries on
March 3, Muslims closed the shops and stayed home as advised by the police,
anticipating a worsening of communal tension. Angry mobs went on an attacking
spree, damaging Muslim property in Teldeniya and Digana. Only the inquiry will
reveal whether Buddhist fringe elements were involved in the riot.
According to local media reports 27 Muslim-owned shops,
businesses and several houses were set on fire by the rioting mobs. At least
one mosque was damaged. Police have arrested 24 persons for suspected
involvement in the incident. Police have deployed the Special Task Force in
strength and 200 army personnel have also been inducted to reinforce the
police.
It is significant that Sirisena has taken the extreme measure of
imposing a state of emergency only after the government was accused of failing
to take timely measures to control the situation after trouble broke out. He
has also issued a stern warning to those who indulge in violence, indicating
his apprehension of involvement of Buddhist fringe elements in the Kandy
incidents. To be fair, Sirisena did manage to control a minor incident in
Gintota in southern Sri Lanka in December 2017, keeping it from turning into a
communal riot. However, the government has not been able to control hate
speech.
The Kandy communal flareup is reminiscent of the Aluthgama
anti-Muslim riots in 2014, when Buddhist extremist organisations, the Bodhu
Bala Sena led by Buddhist monk Gnanasara Thero and the Ravana Balaya, turned an
altercation between a Muslim youth and the driver of a vehicle carrying a
Bhikku into an occasion to rouse Sinhala passions. It triggered largescale anti-Muslim
riots in the towns of Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga in the Kalutara district.
At least four people were killed and 80 injured. Ten thousand
people of both communities were displaced and sought shelter in schools. A
large amount of Muslim property and houses worth millions of rupees were
destroyed. Police had failed to take preventive action before the riots, when
Gnanasara Thero egged on a restive crowd, with incendiary anti-Muslim rhetoric,
to act against Muslims.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, then in power, lost the trust of
minority communities after the Aluthgama riots, as the extremist monk continued
his free run during most of Rajapaksa’s rule. Indeed the Aluthgama riots cost
Rajapaksa dearly in the presidential elections, when Muslim and Tamil
minorities voted en masse to elect challenger Sirisena as president.
However, in the just concluded local body elections, Rajapaksa
used the latent fear of Tamil extremism to rouse the passions of Sinhala rural
masses and garner support for his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Apparently, it all worked out well for him as their support ensured SLPP coming
out on top. So, SLPP playing the communal card in future elections cannot be
ruled out.
The ruling Sirisena-Wickremesinghe unity coalition performed
poorly in these local body polls, so Sirisena needs to retain the minority
Tamil and Muslim support now, more than ever before. Unless he demonstrates his
ability to control Buddhist extremists, minority support may not be forthcoming
in the future. It is a tricky task, because the fundamentalist slogan “Buddhism
under siege” feeding anti-Muslim rhetoric, is embedded in the body politic of
not only Sri Lanka but also in Myanmar and to a lesser extent in Thailand.
There is also an international dimension to the anti-Muslim
riots in Sri Lanka. The Aluthgama riots brought a lot of adverse global
publicity. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the government to
halt the violence and bring the perpetrators to book. The US followed suit. The
EU sent a delegation along with Norwegian, Swiss and Turkish embassies to urge
the government to uphold the rule of law. Nearer home, in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil
Nadu Thowheed Jamath organised a protest outside the Sri Lanka Deputy High
Commissioner’s office, taking advantage of the local anti-Sri Lanka
environment.
In the past, Sri Lanka has handled anti-Muslim riots merely as a
routine law and order issue. Sirisena, who got elected with the promise of good
governance, will have to make a difference in the follow up action after the
riots. Whether he can do it without causing Buddhist backlash is a question
waiting to be answered.
The writer served as the
head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka (1987-90).
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