Police Turn Blind Eye To Assault On Pastor
By Dinouk Colombage
“It is the duty of the police to act...”- Reverend Godfrey Yogarajah
Police have failed to properly respond to the alleged assault of Reverend Lasantha Jayalath, Regional Presbyter of Deniyaya, and his wife by a mob led by members of the Buddhist clergy, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL).
On August 9 at 1pm Reverend Jayalath and his wife were returning home after visiting a member of their congregation when they were stopped by a mob of 40 people who were allegedly led by several Buddhist monks.
According to a report released by the NCEASL the mob comprised a member of the Deniyaya Pradeshiya Sabha and several Buddhist monks. The pastor and his wife were assaulted by the mob and questioned as to who gave them permission to live in the area.
They were then taken to the house they had just visited, at which point the mob turned on the lady of the house and her daughter demanding to know how much they were paid to convert to Christianity. The pastor and his wife were finally able to escape the mob and fled to their home.
Reverend Jayalath, who had suffered injuries to his legs and arms, did not want to go to hospital as he feared he would be harmed there. He lodged a police entry the next day.
Roshini Wickramasinghe, attorney-at-law, said that the police had not taken any action over the complaint.
“They told the pastor that an inquiry would be held, but on the day of the inquiry the pastor and his wife were informed that the other party had not turned up and they would have to wait till they did,” she said.
Wickramasinghe added that the Reverend had refused to divulge the identity of one of the assailants, despite knowing who it was, as he feared for his safety.
Reverend Jayalath and his family left Deniyaya shortly after the incident for fear of further attacks. He could not be contacted for further comment.
Reverend Godfrey Yogarajah, General Secretary of the NCEASL, said that he was appalled by such an act and disappointed that no proper action had been taken by the police to ensure justice was served. “This act is just another example of growing religious intolerance on the part of a few in the country. It is the duty of the police to act on such a complaint and ensure the safety of the citizens of the country,” he said.
Police spokesman, SSP Ajith Rohana, said that he was unaware of such an incident.
Now fundamentalists turn against the Christians in the country. Who will be next?
So promoting conversion to Christianity is the cause??
Fundamentalists? The so called “Christians” mentioned are also fundamentalists or to be precise “Christian Fundamentalists”. The article talks about religious intolerance. But the writer should know that religious intolerance includes the reluctance to tolerate a person practicing a religion like Buddhism (or for that matter even Catholicism) and trying to convert them to “Christian Fundamentalism” offering financial, material or emotional bribes. After all, why should a person who lives decent or righteous live end up in the hell just because he did not accept Jesus? The reported incident is yet another episode of the clash between religious fundamentalists; the so called Buddhist Fundamentalists and the Christian Fundamentalists.
Monks going crazy! They are not real followers of the Buddha. If Buddha had lived, he would be ashamed and disgusted over them. I wonder why these so called monks behave like thugs in Sri Lanka, but not in other buddhist countries, where they are more peaceful.
These third grade hooligans are-insulting and disgracing Loard Buddha .Police sporksman will get another promotion very soon.
So called Buddhist monks are the thugs of politicians ,look at their arms and the build ,one of those guys doing a strip in Dambulla looked like a stud.
Mr president can stop this if he wants to , he is pussyfooting around.
We the patriotic people of srilanka elected president rajapakse to protect all srilankans irespective of religon or ethnicity,Unfortunately President has betrayed the mandate.in all aspects of humanity.Whats up with the opposition leader too.
We the srilankan diaspora watching closiely with the events in srilanka from media suppression to religous bigotry .Freedom and peace at stake ? Wake up srilankans.
Guys Buddhist monks shouldn’t behave like this I agree, but do you know the Evangelists are doing a crusade targetting innocent buddhist to convert with some promise of life in a western country and some other perks, including liberal access to liquor cheap sex and sodomy. See what Lalith Kothalawela did aligning with some western rogues, and how he ended up, if you are too liberal with this so called good preaching people (who are mostly fake) to catch fish, then you will destroy buddhism in the country. At least if you can’t do let the monks do their part.
all you poeple should understand dat sri lanka is a free counrty and we all have the right to choose our own religion, if you think Christianity is violent, then look at wat Buddhism is doing now, lord Buddha never told anyone to disgrace (brutally) because of their choice…. in all religions it has been told … “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES ” why has this been told, to unite the world and have peace… is this the message these people are sending… NO.. SO THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU POINT A FINGER AT A RELIGION COZ THEY SAY…. WHEN U POINT ONE FINGER YOU GOT THREE POINTING BACK AT YOU…. think twice SRI LANKA… we already won one war… why create more…… and why make the world laugh at our silly beings…..
Kosala, where the hell do you find in the damma pada or Buddhas teachings that the bloody monks can take the law in to their own hands and assault Clergy or believers of other religions. I am a Christian, but Buddhas teachings are on love and compassion if I know it right. Just put these few hooligans in orange robes behind bars and save your respectful Clergy community.
More of the ongoig Yellow Robed Terrorism which continues unabated.
Police dare not inquire.
All these fake good-wishers are the peppet of Evangelics. Christianity is destroying Sri Lanka. Those who are worry for that bz they cannot kill monks like Ven. Kudapola by shooting down like in Chritian rulers dominated the country. The sympathizers of the Buddha are pretenders. They wanna Wester-Sri lanka where fathers can bribe innocent and convert them. Empty christianity misuse good-heart of Buddhist to destroy Buddhism. Therefore all who love Buddhism should help monks in this kind of things. The report wanna say this father is real innocent saint! Who does not know the real face? Keep them in Church and within you people. Then there will not be attacks further!
Sagara, Christians, Hindus & Muslims are not destroying Sri Lanka,for they all are a minority (22%). Lord Buddha & His philosophy has no parallel in this land. If Buddhism is being destroyed as you believe,it is being done by the Buddhists themselves,whether they be layman or monks. The Deniyaya incident is one such example only. If this happened 2600 years back when Buddha was alive, He would have taken the presbyters side for sure!
Religious intolerance on the part of some Buddhists should be stopped forthwith before it escalates. This is a dangerous trend that is quite contrary to the teachings of the Buddha. People should be free to practice whatever religion they choose without fear of being harmed by a handful of thugs and hooligans.
It is sad to note that the Christians and other small denominations are deprived to grow on their belief because of a few hooligans in orange robes backed by brainless politicians. The heads of Buddhist priests themselves cannot control their juniors. They should be banned from the Clergy and jailed for this type of crime. No Christian organization has ever paid money for anybody to follow the religion. It is also very disappointing to note that the Police have failed to control the incident and bring the responsible radicals to justice. It is a human being’s right to be able to follow any faith and vote for any political party as well. We blind Sri Lankans have always tried to force people to accept what we want rather than respect and accept what the other person wants. Our country is a multy ethnic, religious community with vast resources and talent that can make a difference in the asian region. But all we are doing is letting a few radical extremists ruin that oppurtunity.
Hey you fools(please wear the cap if it fits you, If you do not know what Christianity means please do not criticise same. Because these people whom i’am calling fools have just bought their ticket to hell, what you do not know is that only and only Jesus Christ can save you no one else. no other religion guarantees you Heaven only Christianity. The only thing that is going right is the predictions in the Holy Bible nothing else. Even what these fools are doing have been predicted in the Holy Bible which talks about the signs of the End times.
dont be fooled by the word end times because its the end of satan and sin not the end of the world. So think twice or thrice before you leap or you might regret later. when you inherit the eternal flame with your friend satan. his days are numbered he know it but do you know it. He is collecting his people because he does not want to be alone in this misery. so please feel free to join him. now you know what i meant when i said you have just bought your ticket to hell. My lord Jesus Christ is crying for you. because he died for all of us. not only for the Christians.
Someone talked about “yellow robe terrorism”.
It appears to be true.