• US State Dept. report on last year’s situation notes, religion, belief and identity based human rights violations perpetrated by citizens and the Police despite improved discourses and initiatives on inter-religious ties  

Many forms of rights related violations based on religious beliefs or identities are still prevalent in Sri Lanka, despite improving dialogues about religious freedom and various initiatives aimed at improving inter-ethnic and inter-religious ties. To make matters worse, the perpetrators of these acts range from ordinary citizens to State backed groups such as the Police, and documenting and taking action against these acts has become difficult.

Noting this, last year’s (2022) Report on International Religious Freedom, issued this week by the United States (US) Department of State’s Office of International Freedom, discussed specific incidents of the violation of religious freedom in Sri Lanka that occurred in 2022 and also systematic harassment on the basis of religion. The report looked into the social, legal and constitutional aspects of religious freedom in Sri Lanka, analysing important religious freedom related events that took place in 2022.

Religious freedom in Sri Lanka in 2022

Noting that religious rights groups reported instances in which the Police continued to prohibit, impede, or attempt to close Christian and Muslim places of worship citing Government regulations, the report explained that in April, the Government widened the scope of the regulations requiring approval for the construction of places of worship. “Critics said  the Government used the regulations to unfairly target minority religious groups. Media outlets, ethnic minority groups, and Opposition politicians continued to report that the Department of Archaeology and the Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province identified Buddhist heritage in sites that were traditionally Muslim or Hindu, and then designated the sites for conservation or the construction of Buddhist structures. On 22 February, unidentified individuals demolished and removed part of an approximately 800-year-old Sufi Muslim shrine in Kuragala. On 15 May, then Army Commander, General Shavendra Silva presided over an opening ceremony for the Kuragala Buddhist vihara and ‘sacred’ land development project at the same location. Construction also continued on a new Buddhist stupa (Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing relics associated with the Buddha or others) in Kurunthur Malai at the site of the ruins of the Aathi Ayyanar Hindu temple, despite a 2018 Court order decreeing that no changes could be made to the location.”

Citing statistics provided by a local non-Governmental organisation (NGO), the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), the report noted that by the end of 2022, there were 80 incidents of physical violence, discrimination, threats, hate propaganda, or property destruction against Christians, and that in addition, during the year, the NCEASL had documented 14 incidents against Muslims and 19 against Hindus. “In many of the incidents, the Police or other State actors played a role, and in cases of intimidation or attacks by Buddhist groups on Christian churches, the Police often claimed that the pastors were to blame. Hashtag Generation, a local NGO that analyses trends in online dangerous speech, claimed that anti-Tamil content increased throughout the year, with many posts in response to protests over the construction of the Buddhist stupa at the Kurunthur Malai site. The United Nations documented that from April to September, Christians were the most targeted ethno-religious minority, followed by Muslims. Anti-Christian posts accused Christians of co-opting the countrywide protest movement,” the report stated, adding that Hashtag Generation had also stated that anti-minority online content often grouped Hindu Tamils and Christians together and spread divisive attitudes by portraying the two communities as being at odds with the Sinhala Buddhist values and ideology.

Government practices

State officials and also the Government in general have been implicated in various forms of harassment against people of different ethno-religious identities. The report added that religious minority groups had reported incidents of violence by members of local majority religious communities and had said that State officials often supported the perpetrators. In addition, as per the report, analysts studying incidents of violence against Christians had said that in certain cases, State officials sided with perpetrators who demanded that Christians cease activities in “Buddhist villages” or obtain permission from the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs to conduct worship activities. According to the NCEASL, evangelical Christian groups continued to report that the Police and Local Government officials were complicit in the harassment of religious minorities and their places of worship, and often sided with the majority religious community in the area. The NCEASL had reported that public officials were the most frequent perpetrators of anti-Christian and anti-Hindu discrimination. According to a report issued in November by the Papal Foundation, Christians were at risk in the country. The report found however that conditions had “slightly improved” over the past several years.”

The report added that Muslim NGOs and organisations continued to report Police harassment and surveillance of their activities since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, and that prisoners of Muslim families arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) in connection with the attacks and those who were released on bail reported continued harassment, including regular telephone calls and visits by Government security forces to inquire about their activities. “In a March report, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, Ahmed Shaheed, drew attention to discrimination against the Muslim and Christian religious communities in Sri Lanka. He said, the 2020 establishment of the Eastern Archaeological Heritage Task Force, the detention of minorities under the PTA, and restrictions on funerals and burials due to Covid-19 were curtailing the rights of religious minorities.”

The status of the societal respect for religious freedom

The report noted that since religion, language, and ethnicity are closely linked, it was difficult to categorise most incidents of harassment or discrimination as being solely based on religious identity.

However, Hashtag Generation had said that anti-Tamil content had increased throughout the year, with 19 posts in September targeting Tamils compared to 15 in August. Many of these posts were in response to protests over the construction of the Buddhist stupa at the Kurunthur Malai site, where content on the issue had portrayed Tamil protesters as extremists and terrorists. It had further pointed out that anti-Christian content peaked at 25 social media posts in August. “Much of the anti-Christian content referenced the involvement of the Catholic clergy in the countrywide protest movement, but some posts also targeted evangelical Christians, referred to as ‘Born Again Christians’. Media reports indicated this development was largely in response to a popular evangelical pastor, Jerome Fernando of the King’s Revival Church, taking credit for the success of cricketer Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the Asia Cup tournament. In September, the UN Sri Lanka Risk Monitor report documented anti-minority online hate speech increasing throughout the year and stated that from April to September, Christians were the most targeted ethno-religious minority, followed by Muslims.”

Citing the NCEASL, the report explained that by the end of 2022, 80 anti-Christian cases of the intimidation of and violence against pastors and their congregations, the obstruction of worship services, discriminatory actions, and attacks on churches had been documented, compared with 77 cases in 2021. Of these, 36 involved threats, intimidation, or coercion, while 44 were discriminatory actions or practices. According to the NCEASL, in cases of intimidation or attacks by Buddhist groups, sometimes led or instigated by Buddhist monks, on Christian churches, the Police had often said the pastors were to blame for holding worship services and accused the pastors of breaching the peace. Three incidents involved property damage or destruction, four related to hate campaigns or propaganda, and six involved physical violence, with one incident possibly including multiple factors.

In addition, the report highlighted incidents of harassment against minority ethno-religious groups at the hands of the Police, the arrests of religious leaders, damaging of places of worship, exclusion based on ethno-religious grounds, and insulting various religions. 

The report added that local civil society organisations continued efforts to strengthen the ability of religious and community leaders to lead peace building activities through District level inter-religious reconciliation committees consisting of religious and civic leaders and lay persons from different faith, traditions and ethnicities.