Report Suggests Police and Other Officials Complicit in Christian Persecution in Sri Lanka
Police and local authorities are apparently complicit in the persecution of Christians in Sri Lanka, a report reveals.
Police in different parts of predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka appear to take no action or are even encouraging the persecution of Christians, according to a report from the National Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NEASL).
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In March 26, a mob of Buddhist monks attacked a pastor and three church members from Kings Revival Church in Ingiriya, Kalutara District.
A day earlier, an unidentified person and two Buddhist monks approached the pastor and questioned him about the "legality" of the worship services being held by his church. Later, one monk called a village official, who later called a Provincial Council member to ask the pastor the same thing. Soon, they demanded papers from the pastor, threatening to take him to the police station if he was unable to produce any.
The report said the officials took photos of the pastor, took a copy of his national ID, and threatened him. The next day, the attack happened. The pastor discovered the following day that the mob of attackers included the village official who questioned him earlier.
The pastor then went to the police to lodge a complaint, but the police "kept giving excuses and refused to lodge the complaint," the report says.
Stop the Services
On March 25, police told the leader of the Christian Fellowship International Ministry, also in Ingiriya, to stop their worship services after a member of the congregation reported an attack from a Buddhist mob. The mob, composed of around 50 people led by three monks, entered the worship service and demanded that it be stopped.
After a church member alerted the police, two drunken police officers reportedly arrived on the scene and rebuked the worshippers for "breaching the peace" before summoning the pastor for questioning, the report said. The Officer-In-Charge (OIC) did not meet with the pastor, however.
Later, when the pastor was summoned again he was harassed by a huge group of 200 people led by 20 Buddhist monks after refusing to comply with the OIC's demand to stop all worship services. He later fled with his wife for safety reasons, noted the Barnabas Fund.
Destroyed Building
In Jan. 5, a Buddhist mob also attacked and destroyed a church building belonging to Kithu Sevana (House of Christ) in Karuwalagaswewa, Puttalam District, the report said.
Four days earlier, the pastor of the church received threats from villagers and went to the local police office to complain. The following day, he and four members of the church went to the local OIC for questioning – in the presence of a monk and some villagers. The pastor asked for the church to be left alone in peace, but the monk insisted that they leave.
The OIC decided to refer the case to the courts. Later in the in evening, however, a huge mob attacked the church building and destroyed it. The Barnabas Fund numbers the mob at about 200. The local police declined to prosecute the assailants.
The report details more cases of persecution, all of them showing some sort of proof that police and local officials seem to support Buddhists as they persecute Christians in Sri Lanka.
