The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) said four anti-Christian meetings, apparently organized by hard-line Buddhists, took place from Friday, June 13, to Tuesday, June 17, in the town of Middeniya in Sri Lanka’s Hambanthota District.
Following the protests, a Christian girl, who was not identified, was allegedly assaulted by her fellow students. More troubles are expected Sunday, June 22, in Middeniya where Buddhists want to organize another "huge" anti-Christian rally, this time to "expose the great [Christian] conspiracy," the NCEASL said.
Christians attending the Assemblies of God (AOG) church in Middeniya have reportedly expressed concern that the rally may lead to violence and discrimination against the town’s small Christian minority. At previous rallies, extremists apparently ordered shopkeepers not to sell food to Christians and encouraged taxi drivers not to accept them as passengers.
VIRTUAL PRISONERS
As a result of such discrimination, an AOG church pastor, his wife and three children are "virtual prisoners" in their own home, the NCEASL said in published remarks. It comes amid mounting concern over an increase in attacks against Christians in Sri Lanka. "We are extremely concerned to hear of the increasing opposition to Christians in Sri Lanka from Buddhist fundamentalists," said Stuart Windsor, National Director of Britain-based rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in a statement to BosNewsLife.
"Such large-scale, organised protesting and rallying can only incite hatred, discrimination and violence against Christians, and this is unacceptable." He said CSW has urged Sri Lankan authorities to take "immediate action to prevent further attacks" on Christians "and ensure that perpetrators of violence are brought to justice."
There was no immediate reaction from the Sri Lanka’s central government, which has been pressured by Buddhist groups to take a tougher stance towards Christians, especially those involved in evangelizing, BosNewsLife monitored. CSW appealed to the government to "uphold the principle of religious freedom as enshrined in Article 10 of [Sri Lanka’s] constitution and obligations under various international human rights treaties."
Christians comprise some seven percent of Sri Lanka’s mainly Bhuddist population of just over 21 million people, according to estimates by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
