Bodu Bala Sena

CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekera. Picture by Gayan Pushpika, DN. Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekera, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department told the Parliament Select Committee on the Easter bombings yesterday that extensive investigations into the activities of Zahran Hashim by the CID had led them to Lactowatte, where the haul of explosives found […]

Vishwamithra. “A Boss in Heaven is the best excuse for a boss on earth, therefore If God did exist, he would have to be abolished.’’ ~ Mikhail Bakunin  Being born a Buddhist, educated at one of the leading Buddhist schools in Colombo and for that matter by one of the greatest erudite scholarly monks at […]

Image: Sirisena invited Gnanasara and his mother to his office after pardoning him. 20th of June 2019: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, filed papers challenging the Presidential Pardon of Gnanasara Thero who was convicted for contempt of court by the Court of Appeal on 8th August 2018. He was sentenced […]

OIC press release/03.06/2019. Communal violence targeting Muslims in Sri Lanka has regional and global security implications. The developing situation over the past few days has been extremely worrying with regards to the safety and protection of the Sri Lankan Muslim community, including some foreign Muslim refugees. The lives and livelihoods of Muslims, including their local […]

Image: Ceylon Chamber of Commerce deeply concerned about the possibility that events that threaten the law and order situation in the country, will unfold and this concern stems from positions taken and utterances made very recently by certain parties. Jun 03, 2019 (LBO) – Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has sent a missive to the Ministry of […]

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said yesterday President Maithripala Sirisena should not have exercised his executive powers arbitrarily when pardoning Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, who was jailed after being found guilty of contempt of court charges. It said it was an act based on irrelevant consideration. In a statement, the BASL said it was […]

CPA Statement on the Presidential Pardon of Gnanasara Thero. 24th May 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses its deep shock and concern over the Presidential pardon of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who was released from prison on 23rd May 2019. The pardon raises a number of pressing questions which the President and […]

The Tamil National Alliance unequivocally condemns the President’s act of pardoning Ven. Gnanasara Thero by abusing the Constitutional powers vested in the Head of State. He was jailed by the Court of Appeal for committing the offence of contempt against the Magistrate’s Court of Homagama. The conviction and sentencing happened after the learned Magistrate complained […]

C.A. Chandraprema, a columnist in The Island has written a hard hitting commentary on  Monk Ganansara and his alleged backers. Chandraprema  is the editor of  the book “Gota’s War” in which he tried  to prove that it was then defense secretary  Gotabhaya Rajapksa who won the war against the LTTE. He is seen as a pro […]

Image:Police said the warrant for the arrest of Galagodaatte Gnanasara relates to an accusation of insulting the Koran that dates back to April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots. By AFP A Sri Lankan court issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of a radical Buddhist monk accused of instigating arson attacks against […]

A Buddhist shrine in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka, July 2016. (Photo: Open Doors International) There have been over 20 violent incidents against Christians so far this year, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Following a parallel surge in violent attacks on Muslims in the country, the alliance calls on the government to ensure […]

Image: A food out let in Ampara, Eastern province was attacked on 22nd May 2017. Sri Lanka police have arrested five people including a member of a hardline Buddhist organization for instigating religious violence against Muslims and a Muslim for defaming Buddhism, police said on Sunday. The arrests come a week after diplomats condemned violence […]

Image: Chairperson, Secretary of the CESCR and Sri Lanka ambassador  at the podium of UN CESCR 61 held at Palais Wilson on 9th June 2017. ©s.deshapriya. By Shreen Saroor. Violent attacks on minority religions have continued with impunity specially against Evangelical Christians And Muslims in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka accepted recommendations of […]

Image: BBS leader Gnanasara with his body guards Who is a Buddhist? That’s a simple question but one that can yield innumerable answers. The innumerability of course can be explained and explained innumerably through reference to the Buddhist canon. The point is, labelling and self-labelling are both easy exercises. For the record, if you replace […]

He’s back. After a year in the shadows, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the controversial monk who leads the radical Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, is front and centre of the news cycle again. He is storming into courtrooms, insulting Government lawyers and threatening, allegedly in foul language, the woman who has been searching for her missing […]

Busy as it is dealing with various political conundrums that crop up from time to time, the government this week encountered yet another unexpected hurdle- in the form of Ven Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and his organisation, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). The rabble rousing monk made an unexpected appearance at the on-going hearings at […]

Pandemonium reigned at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court premises with three Buddhist monks threatening to self-immolate in protest against the arrest of Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera. Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera arrested on the charges of contempt of court, obstructing Court proceedings and intimidating a public servant was yesterday ordered […]

After being toppled as president, Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted to become PM. But the Sri Lankan leader’s comeback bid has ended in defeat as early parliamentary poll results showed the ruling alliance made decisive gains. “My dream of becoming prime minister has faded away,” Rajapaksa was quoted by news agency AFP on Tuesday, August 18, as […]

The Government’s move to come down hard against purveyors of hate speech is most opportune given the increasingly strident forms the speeches made by both politicians and some members of Bhikkhu community, with communal undertones, have taken in recent times. Today minority bashing has become a fine art with certain politicians in the South so […]

[A Sri Lankan Muslim man checks his charred house after it was set on fire by Buddhist hardliners: Times of India] The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) today called upon the newly elected president to re-investigate religious killings which had occurred in the country under the previous regime. The SLMC said that while the government […]

[BBS responsible for anti-Muslim riots in Aluthgama] By publicly alining with Rajapaksa regime the anti- Muslim hard line Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has delivered  that total Muslim vote bank to Opposition common candidate Maithripala Senanayaka. Today at a news conference held today, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Organisation said it would give its unconditional support […]

[BBS head with his body gaurds] By Jenny Gao This Thursday, Tudor Silva, Senior Professor of Sociology from the University of Peradeniya, gave a talk about Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), an organization of militant Buddhist monks, in Sri Lanka. With a Buddhist revival during the 20th century, Sri Lanka saw a rise of Sinhalese Buddhist […]

[Ven. Gnanasara ] As the government represents people from all social and ethical backgrounds, President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the ‘genuine’ common candidate of the nation, General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organization Ven. Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thero has said. Ven. Gnanasara made this announcement at a press conference held in Colombo, on 28th […]

[Buddhist monks at the BBS convention; Photo: REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte] COLOMBO (Reuters) – A Myanmar monk accused of inciting violence against Muslims and a hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka said on Tuesday they would work together to rally other Buddhist groups and defend their faith against militant Islamists. Ashin Wirathu, who once called himself “the […]

[Monks Wirathu and BBS head Gnanasara] Controversial Myanmar monk Wirathu attends a meeting of Buddhist monks at a monastery near Yangon in June 2013. Sri Lanka’s main nationalist group will host the cleric Sri Lanka’s main Buddhist nationalist group on Saturday announced it will host a radical cleric from Myanmar who is accused of fanning […]

[Photos of the protest; Sunday Times] “If any Muslim extremist group attack the world heritage of Boro Budur Buddhist temple Complex in Indonesia which consists of 504 Buddha statues the extremist groups in Sri Lanka would have to face the consequences”, said The General secretary Ittakande Saddathissa thero of the Ravana Balaya. reportes The Sunday […]

[Photo: UNAOC/Georges Schneider] “In both Myanmar and Sri Lanka, I am concerned that Buddhist communities are being swept up by a rising tide of extremist sentiment against other groups,” United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon said on Friday. He said that in Myanmar, it “is critical to resolve the issue of status and citizenship of […]

[ACHC – A file photo] The All Ceylon Hindu Congress has sent the following letter with reference to news item that appeared in the newspapers and websites: We have been receiving enquiries in respect of news reports and website news of what have been said by “All Ceylon Hindu Federation”. We are unaware of existence […]

[DEVASTATED: A riot-victim grieves in Alutgama. (AP)] By Secretariat for Muslims– It is now two months after the anti- Muslim violence of Aluthgama and adjacent areas, and as is the case with most occurrences in Sri Lanka, media attention seem to have moved on now to other issues of importance. The Office of the High […]

[Fr. Sathivel (on right) was almost assaulted by the mob. Photo: Melani Manel] Bishop  of Colombo Rev. R. Canagasabey today rejected  false allegations against HRD, Fr. Sathivel by the monks led mob who invaded the Center for Society and Religion on 4th Aug. Issuing a statement the Bishop said that ”I  do not in any […]