Bodu Bala Sena on the offensive - time to cool off the passion

Emboldened by the support they are now receiving the Buddhist Priests who now form the head table of this organization, I believe appear to be completely misusing the precepts of Buddhism to take the Country back to the dark ages.

If the people of Sri Lanka cannot understand that they are taking issues that easily inflame people to make their case and gain credibility then it is them who eventually will have to pay the price of the Monster they are about to unleash on the masses.

The Halal issue is an easily attackable issue, which I believe has little to do with the Muslim people in the Country and just a small section who are bent on instilling fundamentalism into an otherwise peaceful and extremely disciplined people with high moral standards. So fooling people that it is a Muslim wide issue is straight away creating confusion, hate and divisive politics, which it is the duty of Government of a sovereign state to prevent. Banning this organization now before it fools more people is the only answer and the assistance of the Buddhist Clergy nationwide MUST be sought. Just hoping this goes away is not the way to deal with it. Religion is the opium of the masses and if people are sufficiently high on drugs they act irrationally and we have none but ourselves to blame for that.

We must understand in reading history that religion is continually being misused for personal ends and it is applicable to all religions. This statement of reawakening a sleeping giant is just incendiary and wrong. Anyone can make statements and people permitted free speech. However when it comes to a situation of spreading hate then the LTTE issue will seem like a walk in the park, as it was not religious based. Any attempt to incite religious feelings for or against can cause a spark that creates a fire that rages for so long we forget where it began.

I appeal therefore for the Bodu Bala Sena to call of the proposed march on Sunday in Maharagama, and instead meditate to appeal to people for common sense on the Halal issue if that is what they wish to march against. Marching against halal will create a counter march also by the fundamentalist elements which will use their influence to force the other groups to join, giving a misleading impression of the size of the fundamentalists, to further raise the tone of the crisis.

I trust common sense will prevail and people’s vanity for media attention diminish. The media also MUST play a crucial role in not giving ANY publicity as it is all part of the incendiary campaign on both sides to raise the bar to a point of no return.