Sri Lanka: monk critical of violence assaulted
Event- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Jun 19, 2014
- Event Description
A Buddhist monk, who campaigned for inter-faith harmony was found assaulted today with cut wounds, and has been hospitalized in Sri Lanka. The General Secretary of Jathika Bala Sena, Ven. Watareka Vijitha Thero was reportedly abducted and found beaten with cut wounds in the Bandaragama area this morning, the police said. He was admitted to the Panadura hospital and was later transferred to Colombo National Hospital for further treatments. According to the information received by the Panadura Police, Ven. Wataraka Vijitha Thero was found with his hands and feet tied up early this morning on the road side in an area called Hirana. Ven. Wataraka Vijitha Thero was threatened by Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, leader of the extremist Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) in April during an inter-faith press conference he held with the Muslim religious leaders. The militant monk leader of BBS disrupted the press conference and made Watareka Vijitha Thero to apologize. The Thero later complained to the Slave Island police that he apologized due to threats to his life. Earlier this month the BBS leader threatened the lawyer, former Provincial Councilor of the United National Party (UNP) Maithri Gunarathna, who was representing the victimized monk, at the court premises. Panadura Police has begun investigations into the assault on Watareka Vijitha Thero.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Reprisal as Result of Communication
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of Religion and Belief
- Minority Rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Event Location
Latitude: 6.7133333
Longitude: 79.9041667
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On June 19, Watareka Vijitha Thero, a moderate Buddhist monk who is critical of anti-Muslim violence, was found bound and beaten by the side of a road in Panadura district, near Colombo. Watareka Vijitha Thero had been threatened in April 2014 by the leader of the extremist Buddhist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), and his lawyer had been threatened by the same man earlier in June 2014. The attack on Watareka Vijitha Thero comes in the context of deadly anti-Muslim riots on Sunday night in the southern town of Aluthgama which left at least four Muslims dead.