fears among Christians that his alliance with influential Buddhists will increase religious persecution.
The 60-year old Rajapakse, who won Thursday’s presidential ballot by a margin of less than two percent, or 200,000 votes, formed an alliance with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU or National Heritage Party), a Buddhist party that has campaigned vigorously for the adoption of anti-conversion laws.
The ‘Bill for the Prohibition of Forcible Conversion’ calls for prison sentences of up to five years and/or high fines for anyone found guilty of converting others "by force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means."
The law also encourages members of the public to report cases of suspected forced conversion. Human rights watchers say the proposed legislation is aimed at cracking down on Christians preaching the Gospel to outsiders.
BUDDHIST MONKS
Although JHU leader Athuraliye Rathna Thero reportedly said his party decided to withdraw the anti-conversion bill for now, analysts say he still have to deal with influential Buddhist monks who want the constitution amended to make Buddhism the state religion.
If those talks break down, anti-conversion legislation is expected to be put back on the parliamentary agenda.
"This is one of the most polarized elections ever in our history," said the Rev. Kingsley Perera, chairperson of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, which groups 8 Protestant denominations. "We do not know which way the results could go," he told Ecumenical News International (ENI) news agency.
CEASE-FIRE TO END?
There is also concern over Rajapakse’s plans to review the current cease-fire with the Tamil rebels brokered by Norway in 2002. He has also pledged to cancel a fund-sharing agreement with the rebels to rebuild tsunami-battered parts of the country under rebel control.
"I have no doubt that the choice before the peace-loving people is very clear," Manel Nanayakkara, a prominent Christian social worker and former Young Women’s Christian Association leader, told ENI.
Earlier, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka issued a statement expressing concern about "the lack of an inclusive approach to the peace process". This was an apparent reference to Rajapakse’s stance compared to that of the other presidential candidate, Ranil Wickremesinghe, himself a former Sri Lankan prime minister, ENI said.
US ANGRY
The United States has reportedly condemned the election of the former prime minister saying the Tamil Tiger rebels kept most ethnic Tamils — about 20 percent of the population — from voting. Rajapakse’s opponent, Ranil Wickramasinghe, unsuccessfully sought a re-vote in areas controlled by the rebels.
Christians comprise roughly six percent of Sri Lanka’s predominantly Buddhist population of over 20-million people, according to official estimates. (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from Sri Lanka).
