Sri Lanka’s Religious Freedom Further Threatened by Anti-Conversion Law

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) have reported on 30th September that an anti-conversion law that prohibits Buddhists from converting to another religion has been suggested by some Buddhist extremists in Sri Lanka.

The draft copy of the proposed constitutional amendment, so-called 18th Amendment, states explicitly, “To convert Buddhists into other forms of worship or to spread other forms of worship among the Buddhists is prohibited.”

Even though the amendment contains an article providing freedom for the practice of other religions, this is qualified by the requirement that they are practised “in peace and harmony with Buddha Sasana [Buddhist teachings]”.

In the previous Sri Lanka National Election, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a party of Buddhist monks were given nine seats in Parliament. The proposals for an anti-conversion law suggested by the Buddhist extremists have become even more forward after they gained a favourable position in the government.

During a recent ten-day visit of CSW to Sri Lanka, CSW met representatives of all major Christian groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference, the National Christian Council (NCC) and the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), constitutional lawyers, media and a senior Government official.

From the visit, the CSW reaffirmed fresh evidence of anti-Christian violence. The team visited a church in Kesbewa, a suburb of Colombo, which had been completely burned down in September 2003. Evidence of anti-Christian propaganda was also presented to CSW. Inflammatory posters are displayed on street corners with slogans such as “Buddhists, Sinhalese, stand up and protect Buddhism for future generations”, and leaflets distributed with headlines such as “Buddhists wake up! Protect Buddhism from the Christian invaders!”

“We fear the future will be tough, tougher than in the early days,” Pastor Niranjan, Vice-President of the Four Square Gospel Church told the CSW team. On August 20, the annual conference of the Four Square Gospel Church, with 1,400 participants, was attacked.

CSW was also told that the local media was generally not very balanced in its coverage of these issues. Newspapers often gave distorted reports, promoting the Buddhist viewpoint and attempting to justify the attacks on Christians.

CSW stated that anti-conversion laws and the proposed constitutional amendment have directly contravened Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CSW firmly opposes these laws and strongly condemns acts of violence against Christians.

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said, “CSW is sensitive to the concerns of Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka, and we stand for the freedom of all people to practise the religion of their choice. We are pleased to have been able to hear first-hand the concerns of all the major faith groups and to be able to reflect those views in our report.”

“In the interests of religious liberty, however, we strongly oppose any move to restrict the freedom of Sri Lankans to change their religion, or to share their beliefs with others. We also condemn anti-Christian violence and hate propaganda, and urge Buddhists and Hindus to enter into dialogue with Christians to ensure religious freedom, respect and harmony for all.”

In the recent visit, CSW has shown its initiative in communicating with leaders of other religions. CSW met Buddhist and Hindu groups, including the President of the Hindu Council, the Director of the Dharma Vijaya Foundation, and the founder of the Sihala Urumaya party, which became the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU).

However, on Thursday 23rd September, the President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said that the Government had engaged in comprehensive peace negotiations for ten years, and observed that peace is not achieved easily and that it is “a constant struggle for mutual understanding and reconciliation, and the establishment of the rule of law, justice and equality”.