Sri Lanka’s Buddhist extremist Ravana Balaya organization which is raising its head as a kangaroo court style terror squad today rounded up a group of evangelical Christians that were distributing a religious magazine in the outskirts of Colombo city and handed over them to the police.
The group of persons that came under the threat of the Buddhist monks of the Ravana Balaya was Jehovah’s Witnesses who were distributing the Sinhala version of an international magazine called ‘Awake!.
Although there was no law to arrest such persons, police summoned to the scene by Buddhist monks took them to Mulleriyawa police station and held them there. They were released after the involvement of officials from the headquarters of the religious organization and news videos showed in television the leader of the Ravana Balaya Ittekande Saddhathissa Thero severely warning them right inside the police station.
Ravana Balaya involved in a number of similar kangaroo court trials in the last week. They forcibly entered as a mob into the Met Department to question the officials regarding failure to forecast . Rushed into Sri Lanka Cricket to inquire why a Hindi song was played as lion flag was carried to the ground at the inauguration. In another incident, which I actually did not read but one of my friends reported, Ravana Balaya bullied a bucket maker who had used some discarded paper with Buddhist symbols for making Vesak lanterns.
This is an interesting phenomenon and recalls the kangaroo courts of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) in the 1987-89 insurrection period. But the JVP’s campaign was bolder and bloodier. They touched all social evils and succeeded in banning things like heroine though temporarily. JVP banned lottery tickets as well. But interestingly, this Buddhist extremist group is totally dumb before the rise of casino in Sri Lanka under the patronage of the top level government officers.
Courtesy – Parakum.com /LNW