The Buddhist Church of Saint-Sebastian in Negombo, Sri Lanka.
The attacks which left at least 290 dead in churches and hotels on Sunday April 21 were allegedly carried out by the small group NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath), according to the government. Since the end of the civil war, friction between communities has remained very frequent in this predominantly Buddhist country.
The civil war that rocked Sri Lanka for about thirty years remains a vivid wound within the communities of the island, in southern India. Tensions between Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims are not uncommon. On Sunday evening, again, Muslim neighborhoods in the capital Colombo were thrown by stones and Molotov cocktails.
Actions in retaliation for the attacks which left more than 290 dead and 500 injured on Sunday in three churches and four hotels in the country . According to the authorities, the seven suicide bombers, who all perished while detonating their bombs, belonged to the local Islamist group NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) . Ouest-France takes stock of the religious and community situation in the country in five questions.
Is the war really over?
Yes. But the country is struggling to heal the wounds of this civil war which left more than 70,000 dead and 140,000 missing, between 1983 and 2009. Resentments remain strong between the Sinhalese in power, mainly Buddhists, and the Tamil minority, mainly Hindu. .
For twenty-six years, the separatist organization of the Tamil Tigers waged a relentless guerrilla war, finally bloodshed by the army.
Have these crimes been punished?
Four years ago, before being elected, President Maithripala Sirisena pledged to investigate war crimes perpetrated by soldiers. In March, he gave up.
This renunciation has aroused the anger of his cohabitation government, which also accuses it of having tried, at the end of 2018, to dismiss the Prime Minister to appoint Mahinda Rajapaska in his place. The latter, in power at the end of the war, cynically illustrated himself by having the Tamil separatists crushed by the army.
Christians, a link?
Interfaith tensions remain high in this country of 22 million inhabitants, including 70% Buddhists, 13% Hindus, 10% Muslims and 7% Christians.
Christians perceived by some as a link between Sinhalese and Tamils, since they are shared between the two communities.
What place for minorities?
Members of the Christian community have denounced, in recent months, the intimidation methods used by extremist Buddhist monks against them. In 2018, the authorities attempted to close some Christian places of worship, claiming that there were “unauthorized meetings”. At that time, clashes also broke out between Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims, accused of wanting to convert Sri Lankans to Islam.
Visiting the island in 2015, Pope Francis called on the country for reconciliation in front of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim representatives. The meeting took place in an icy atmosphere, his interlocutors hardly having exchanged a word. Yesterday, the Sovereign Pontiff condemned these attacks (read below).
Why recruit … executioners?
“Look for two executioners with mental strength and excellent moral rectitude. “ The ad was published by the Sri Lankan prison administration in the Daily News on 12 February.
President Sirisena had just announced his intention to restore the death penalty for drug traffickers and terrorists. The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcom Ranjit, urged him yesterday to “punish without mercy” the perpetrators of the attacks.
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