Sinhala Ravaya demands equal justice for all communities

Saying that the Government still did not have a defined mechanism to take immediate action against religious extremism in the country, the Ravana Balaya organisation demanded equal justice for all communities, including the country’s Sinhalese and Muslims. 

Addressing the media at the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) head office, Sinhala Ravaya General Secretary Magalkande Sudaththa Thero claimed that the Government’s immediate actions were limited to suppressing the Sinhala-Buddhist people who stood for their own community. 

“When a Sinhala-Buddhist man talks about his race and religion, he is automatically labelled an extremist. However, if any Muslim man or anyone else stands for his identity it is labelled self-respect. We can’t understand how it works,” the Thero said. 

Speaking about the attempts of the Police to arrest BBS Secretary General Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, Sudaththa Thero said that the Government had treated Gnanasara Thero as a terrorist who was trying to destroy the harmony of the country.

“When Police attempted to arrest Gnanasara Thero several times, they did not have a warrant or a valid reason for his arrest. Even though the Thero has promised to visit the Police to give a statement regarding the court case against him, the Police tried to arrest him in a hurry. We have a doubt over whether the Police was executing someone’s contract to kill Gnanasara Thero,” Sudaththa Thero claimed. 

The Thero added: “Some Muslim extremists are trying to label Gnanasara Thero as another Prabhakaran because Gnanasara Thero has stood against Muslim extremism.”

Furthermore, Sudaththa Thero said that there were several attempts to abduct and kill Gnanasara Thero since he highlighted incidents of deforestation and unauthorised construction conducted by some extremist Muslims. 

Commenting on the special unit that the Government was going to establish in order to prevent extremism, Sudaththa Thero said that the unit’s intention was nothing more than to hunt Sinhala-Buddhists who stood for their own race and religion.  

“The Government should take stern actions to arrest Muslim minsters who support Muslim extremism before arresting Gnanasara Thero. The law should be equal for all,” Sudaththa Thero said. 

The Thero also said the BBS was not responsible for the attacks on Muslim religious centeres and that there should be credible inquiries into these attacks. 

“We also condemn these attacks. Investigations should be made to arrest Muslims who attacked their mosques,” he said. (CG)