• Committee appointed to study issue

The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs said that new legislations will be soon presented to Parliament in order to prevent religious teachings and practices being intentionally distorted by parties, and which could cause disharmony between communities.

The move comes following several incidents of suicides linked to a religious cult during the past few months. The Police suspects that Ruwan Prasanna Gunaratne had allegedly promoted suicide as a faster path to rebirth. Several of his followers had taken their lives. According to police sources, seven incidents of suicides had been reported across Sri Lanka related to the said religious preachings.

Against this backdrop, some groups have urged the Government to expedite the enactment of laws against the distortion of religious teachings including defamation of recognised religions in Sri Lanka.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (7), Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Secretary Somaratne Vidhanapathirana said that the Ministry is planning to draft a new piece of legislation in this regard with the support of the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms, but it is still consulting relevant stakeholders to obtain their insights and proposals on the matter.  He said that the Ministry is planning to submit it to the legislature as soon as possible.

Vidhanapathirana further said that the Ministry has appointed a committee comprising senior religious leaders representing all the main religions to look into the matters related to distortion of religious teachings and practices, and the said committee has been asked to submit their proposals and insights within two months. He also said that the legislation will include laws which prevent distortion and misinterpretation of religious theories and practices and the regulation of all related misconduct. He said that the committee will inform the Ministry about what they expect, and accordingly, the laws will be enacted under the guidance of religious leaders of the respective religions.

Several months ago, a few people including a stand-up comedian were arrested and later released because of allegedly insulting Buddhism while several pseudo-monks were arrested from all over the country for uploading distorted content on social media last month.

Sri Lanka has a history of enacting legislation which have subsequently been often abused by law enforcement agencies, and used to target dissidents.