US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO760

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL, DRL/IRF, DRL/CRA; NSC 
FOR E. MILLARD 
 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:     DECL: 05-11-14 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, SOCI, KIRF, CE, Religious Freedom 
SUBJECT:  Amid decline in number of church attacks, new 
calls for "anti-conversion" law could spark tensions 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo 747, and previous 
 
-      (B) SA/INS-Colombo 05/06/04 unclass email 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Over the course of the past several 
months, there has been a sharp decline in the number of 
attacks on Christian churches in Sri Lanka compared to 
the late 2003 - early 2004 timeframe.  The decline seems 
attributable, at least in part, to the public 
condemnation of the attacks by GSL officials and also 
solid police work which has led to the arrest and 
prosecution of a number of alleged perpetrators.  That 
said, Mission has received recent reports that there may 
have been two more attacks in April.  The overall 
positive trend in the situation could be disrupted if 
the JHU party, led by Buddhist monks, moves forward with 
plans to submit an "anti-conversion" bill to Parliament 
soon.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU) SHARP DECLINE IN NUMBER OF CHURCH ATTACKS: 
Over the course of the past several months, there has 
been a sharp decline in the number of attacks on 
Christian churches in Sri Lanka compared to the late 
2003 - early 2004 timeframe.  From August 2003 until 
early February 2004, Mission confirmed that dozens of 
attacks on Christian churches, and sometimes on pastors 
and parishioners (see Ref A) had taken place.  By early 
February, reports of attacks had largely tapered off, 
although Mission has recently heard that there may have 
been at least two new attacks in April (see Para 5 
below). 
 
3.  (C) GSL STEPS:  The decline in the number of attacks 
seems attributable, at least in part, to two major 
factors:  the public condemnation of the attacks by GSL 
officials and solid police work.  In early 2004, for 
example, President Kumaratunga publicly condemned the 
attacks and warned that perpetrators would be punished. 
Other GSL officials have also spoke out in public 
against the attacks.  In terms of stepped-up law 
enforcement, the police also arrested at least two 
separate gangs of alleged perpetrators.  In one such 
case, seven men were arrested for attacking an Apostolic 
church in Kurunegala District in north-central Sri Lanka 
in February.  The men, who were later released on bail, 
face a court date in July, according to Officer-in- 
Charge S.I. Chandrasekera. In another case in Kurunegala 
District, three men were arrested in February for 
allegedly attacking a church with firebombs.  They were 
subsequently released on bail.  Kurunegala District 
Police Inspector Sanjeeva Bandara told Pol FSN on May 11 
that the case of the three men is scheduled to come to 
trial in early June.  Former Interior Ministry Secretary 
M.N. Junaid told the DCM and RSO May 11 that the 
February arrests had broken the back of the main groups 
of perpetrators, which had included Buddhist monks and 
one university professor. 
 
4.  (C) Commenting on the situation, Reverend David 
Beling, a Colombo-based pastor with the Assemblies of 
God religious denomination who has been outspoken on the 
situation, told poloff on May 11 that he thought that 
the frequency and the intensity of attacks on churches 
had decreased significantly in recent months.  He 
attributed this turn of events to "people's interests 
shifting to other matters," such as the April 2 
parliamentary elections. 
 
5.  (SBU) REPORTS OF NEW ATTACKS:  Despite the ebb in 
the overall number of attacks since February, Mission 
has recently heard that at least two incidents may have 
taken place in April.  Information on the two reported 
incidents is contained below: 
-- On April 11 (Easter Sunday), the Christian Fellowship 
Church in Wadduwa town, located approximately 30 
kilometers south of Colombo, was allegedly attacked by a 
mob led by a Buddhist monk.  Members of the mob threw 
rocks through the windows of the church and beat 
worshippers with sticks as they attempted to exit the 
church, according to Roshini Wickremesinghe, the 
Communications Director of the National Christian 
Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka.  Mission has 
confirmed that local police are investigating the 
incident. 
 
-- Also on April 11, the residence of a pastor of an 
Assembly of God church in Ampara District in eastern Sri 
Lanka was firebombed.  There were no injuries in the 
attack.  Police are investigating the incident. 
 
6.  (C) RENEWED CALLS FOR "ANTI-CONVERSION" LAW:  In 
other religious freedom developments, the Jathika Hela 
Urumaya (JHU) party has publicly pledged to introduce 
legislation in Parliament that would prohibit religious 
conversions.  (The JHU is a new party that has nine MPs 
in Parliament. All of the MPs are Buddhist monks.) 
Athureliye Rathana, the JHU spokesperson, told us on May 
11 that the JHU would attempt to introduce the bill when 
Parliament reopened on May 18.  (In 2003, "anti- 
conversion" legislation was drafted, but was never 
formally introduced in Parliament.)  In an article in 
the English-language Sunday LEADER on May 9, Rathana -- 
touching on common themes often mentioned by those who 
support such legislation -- was quoted as stating: 
"there are groups of people that take advantage of the 
poverty of the people by giving them money to convert 
them" and "people should not be forced to accept another 
religion."  The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) 
government has not indicated whether or not it would 
support an "anti-conversion" bill, although most 
observers believe it would not.  Christian Affairs 
Minister Milroy Fernando, for example, has been quoted 
in the press as stating that he would have serious 
qualms about any such proposal.  For its part, the 
Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, a key 
UPFA coalition partner, has yet to commit itself to 
proposed legislation in this area.  In a May 10 
conversation with DCM, former Interior and Christian 
Affairs Minister (and UNP member of Parliament) John 
Amaratunga said he doubted the legislation would pass if 
put forward. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT:  The overall news in the religious 
freedom area is positive at this point.  The sharp 
decline in the number of attacks on churches is 
particularly welcome given that the number of such 
incidents was at epidemic levels in 2003 - early 2004. 
We believe that USG discussions with GSL interlocutors 
helped prod the Sri Lankan government to take a stronger 
tack against the attacks and their perpetrators.  The 
bad news is that the renewed calls for "anti-conversion" 
legislation could disrupt current positive trends by 
sparking religious tensions.  It would seem a tough sell 
to deter the leaders of the JHU from pressing the 
proposed bill, as they seem quite committed to moving 
forward on the matter.  While it has not firmly 
committed itself one way or the other, our sense is that 
the government will be hesitant to go along with the 
JHU.  President Kumaratunga has a good track record in 
this area and is unlikely to support moves that could 
undermine religious harmony.  END COMMENT. 
 
8.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD