Mr. Zerney Wijesuriya writing in the Daily Mirror of September 11 and the two representatives of the Women Worker's Christian Association writing in the Daily Mirror of October 8, have raised an alarm over so-called attacks on the Christian community.

There have been no physical attacks on Christians or opposition to Christian religious worship in Sri Lanka by Buddhists as such. The few attacks, not that I condone them, have been against evangelists resorting to unethical conversions. What the colonialists did by branding the sword and the use of brutal force then, their agents today are repeating with the use of financial resources targeting the poor Buddhists and Hindus. The unethical conversion process involves the condemnation of Buddhism and the glorification of God asserting that it is God who gives all the money and material benefits which Buddhism cannot give them. There are confirmed admissions in this regard. Will any Christian or Islamic country tolerate the use of bribery and corruption to convert members of their faith to other faiths? They never will.

Nevertheless, Buddhists have been calm and inactive over the activities of the Christian evangelists all these years and they still are. However, the dangers of unethical conversions are now being felt and it is therefore natural that such conversions, should be objected to.

The former police officer, Mr. Wijesuriya, has referred to intelligence reports on impending insurrection of the JVP in the South and the militancy of the LTTE in the North and East, which according to him were ignored resulting in violence, death, destruction and misery and adds that ignoring intelligence reports on attacks on Christians will similarly prove disastrous.

There have been violence and uprisings in other countries as well and in those countries too there would have been intelligence reports in advance which may have been ignored or acted upon. In those countries too death, destruction and violence resulted. Intelligence reports and preparedness alone cannot stop uprisings.

The two JVP uprisings of the Sinhala youth were crushed by the Government as they had no national or international support, whereas the LTTE militancy of the Tamil youth had local and international backing preventing an all out offensive and victory over the LTTE. That's another matter.

Whatever it may be, it cannot be denied that it was the result of the failure to understand the problems and aspirations of the youth, both Sinhala and Tamil, and dragging the feet by the political elite, (Sinhala and Tamil) in finding solutions to the problems faced, that created the circumstances that led to the uprisings resulting in the country being in the plight that it is in today. Hence, the issue of the so-called' religious strife' raised by Mr. Wijesuriya has to be viewed in the context of the circumstances that could lead to such strife. I agree with Mr. Wijesuriya that Lord Jesus Christ preached love and kindness. The Buddha did that some 500 years before Jesus Christ. 'If someone slaps you on one cheek turn the other' was what Lord Jesus Christ preached.

The Working Women's Christian Association has come out with half-truths claiming non-admission of children of Christian faith to schools and denial of the Christian dead. Who set up schools on religious basis? Was it not the Christians? Is it not the Buddhist children who are denied admission to Christian schools, even state assisted schools? I wonder whether the area rule applies to Christian schools ? Why is it that Christian schools limit the admission of Buddhist children to 10 % or less? Is it not to prevent Buddhist children outnumbering Christian children in those schools? Who introduced segregation of the dead on the basis of the faith? Is it not the Christians? The Christians can bury their dead anywhere if they so wish. But can the Buddhists bury their dead in Christian preserves?

The WWCA has referred to a demand to ban Mahayana Buddhism. That again is not factual. There is no necessity. Both Theravada and Mahayana accept the original teachings of the the Buddha. Buddhists have lived in harmony with the Christians and those of other faiths. The Christians have the full freedom to follow and practise their religion. It is the evangelists who are attempting to contribute to the spread of religious disharmony by their actions. What is being opposed is unethical conversions to the Christian faiths through coercion using financial clout-bribery and corruption, targeting poor Buddhists and Hindus.

There are nearly 350 NGOs resorting to unethical conversions, thereby contravening provisions in the International covenants of civil and political rights, the relevant article reading, 'No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice. ' These facts may perhaps allay the fears harboured by Mr . Wijesuriya and the WWCA.

Niroda Gamage
Secretary
Bambalapitiya Flats Buddhists Society