‘Fundamentalism’ as the destabilizing agent – Minister Champika Ranawaka

Since 2004, the US Ambassadors have been writing to their country about fundamentalism, especially Wahhabism and other armed groups operating in Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, they are now trying to nurture the same elements in order to destabilize Sri Lanka. This is their strategy to destabilize Sri Lanka. When Wahhabism was born in the Arab world, it was the British that supported Wahhabism financially and militarily. They did this to destabilize the Ottoman Empire. It was the US that nurtured Al Qaeda and Taliban in order to destabilize the former Soviet Union. Likewise, they are now trying to give mammoth publicity to social separatist movements led by the SLMC and in this way, also provide moral support and legitimacy to these elements, Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka told the Daily News during a recent interview.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) has been accused of stoking communal tensions against the Muslims along with the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). What is your comment?

A: We are based on compassion and non-violence. We did not stoke any violence or communal tension against the Muslims. The other fact is, we are not collaborating with the BBS or any other organization which are political bodies. The JHU is a professional body which is not only confined to Buddhism as an issue. We represent professional people in Sri Lanka.

In Aluthgama, we saw the kind of suppression of truth. Some radical elements within the Muslim community are targeting the innocent Buddhists in society and also some Muslim and Sinhala politicians are trying to tarnish the image of the Buddhist people and the country. That is why we intervened.

Q:Some have proposed legislation against hate speech. What is your view on this?

A: We have adequate legislation in our criminal justice system. If we talk about this hate speech, they always point out to religious speech. What about the hate speech regarding other entities?

The leftist political parties always talk about the fight against capitalists. This type of social issue and ideology of leftist political parties and it’s military kind of revolutions, has led to the destruction of thousands of people in Sri Lanka.

In 1953 eight people were killed and in 1971 about 12,000 people killed. In the 1988 – 89 period about 60,000 people were murdered. Those people were killed due to the violent ideology propagated by Marxist parties. I do not think that Marxism can be blamed for this alone, but they used this ideology to propagate hate in society. Some religious texts clearly advocate a kind of hate. They are here in Sri Lanka. We, Buddhists are very proud to say that not a single word in Buddhism promotes hate or violence. It is the only religion in the world which does not propagate the faith via violent means.

If anybody tries to introduce new legislation instead of the existing legislation, it should include all this hate speeches. For example, the so called proletariat song Saadukin pelenaun den ithin negitiyaw (starving people! wake up now!) should be banned. Anthima satanata serasiyaw (get ready for the final battle) should also be banned because it promotes hatred.

The last battle means the Bolshevik Revolution where a large number of people were killed. Here in Sri Lanka we experienced the same during the 1988 – 89 period. The JVP and other leftist political forces killed each other. Religious texts that promote hatred, violence and revenge should be banned. If it’s within that kind of wide scope, we will agree. We do not propagate this kind of hatred, violence and anger. It cannot be confined to religious and national things alone. Here in Sri Lanka, the LTTE began as a Marxist party based on Lenin’s doctrine of self determination rights. If new laws come in to effect, they should cover the entire spectrum and only then, we will agree.

Q: You have gone on record saying that Jihadist elements are present in Sri Lanka. Could you elaborate on this? Do you think there is some foreign assistance to these elements?

A: Very recently the Interpol warned us that some groups such as Al Qaeda, Pakistan Taliban and Lashkar–E–Taiba are operating here in Sri Lanka and one person called ‘Shakir’ from Gampola was arrested in Chennai in connection with a bomb blast that took place at the Chennai railway station.

India warned us on this matter. Here in Sri Lanka, various quarters in the Muslim society, especially the Thawheed Jamad movement is now propagating a brand of Wahhabism in a very violent manner. Wahhabism could be something philosophical but organizations like Al Qaeda in Syria and Yemen, the Taliban in Afghanistan, LET in India, Jamia Islamia in Malaysia, the ISIS movement in Iraq, Boko-Haram in Nigeria and all Muslim fighters in Sudan are Wahhabists. Therefore, we should be seriously concerned about Wahhabism and we also see that the Muslim community is self alienating themselves into social segregation. They can say that they need to protect and preserve their unique culture and identity but they can only do that by integrating with other cultures and social orders.

Q:Do you see a plan to destabilize Sri Lanka by perusing the recent incidents?

A: Definitely yes. You can notice this when you go through Wikileaks information. Since 2004, various US Ambassadors in Sri Lanka have been writing about fundamentalism, especially Wahhabist and other armed groups operating here in Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, they are now trying to use these same groups to destabilize Sri Lanka.

It was US that nurtured Al Qaeda and Taliban in order to destabilize the former Soviet Union. We can see that using our online visa system, some radical elements from Malaysia, Pakistan, India, especially the Tamil Nadu Tawheed Jamad Movement are now entering Sri Lanka and our local extremists have participated in certain conventions held in Tamil Nadu as well.

There are some state and non state actors who promote Sri Lanka. Some are aimed at destabilizing and derailing the country and some are trying to transform Sri Lanka into another Afghanistan.

The Western powers are now trying to contain our country and broaden the charge sheet. Earlier, they were talking about accountability and now they talk about religious harmony and other matters. In this way, they are broadening the charge sheet against our country and through it, trying to gain moral legitimacy for their future actions. Their propaganda tools such as the Qatar based Al-Jazeera, British based BBC, US based CNN are propagating fabricated stories and spreading wild allegations against the Sinhala Buddhist community in Sri Lanka to provide moral support to Jihadist groups to create conflicts in their destabilizing campaign in Sri Lanka.

Q: What are your proposals to ensure ethnic and religious harmony?

A: We have a very good army. We have excellent expertise on these matters. We should pin down the military kind of extremists operating here in Sri Lanka. They should be severely dealt with. We should make the public aware about the segregation process that is being carried out. When something happens, it should be localized. For example, something similar to the Aluthgama incident should not be allowed to spread to other areas of the country. We have to solve these problems as soon as possible. When we delay justice, these issues will blown up out of proportion. Everybody is equal in the eyes of the law.

There are instances when the laws regarding road discipline and construction, wild life, Forest Ordinance, illegal tapping of electricity etc., have not been implemented to the letter. In this way, the people’s faith in the law and these institutions will be eroded. We have to strengthen the law enforcement authorities and also the law enforcement authorities should take speedier action when the need arises. Otherwise, things may get blown out of proportion.

Q: What will be the outcome of the UN probe against Sri Lanka and what will be the next possible challenge to be thrown at us?

A: It is very clear and it is a well planned thing. They have already made up their minds. It is a supportive document to the Darusman Report. No matter, whether we participate or not, they have a well planned charge sheet against us. They try to tarnish Sri Lanka’s image and the Sri Lankan government’s moral legitimacy. Separate countries will take action against individuals and the country as a whole. Therefore, we must be prepared to face this challenge as a country.

Courtesy:  Daily News