Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03COLOMBO1471
2003-08-22 05:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

GSL reviewing proposed anti-conversion bill as

Tags:  PGOV PHUM SOCI CE 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001471 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08-22-13
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CE
SUBJECT: GSL reviewing proposed anti-conversion bill as
Supreme Court reiterates Buddhism's "foremost" place

Refs: (A) Colombo-SA/INS 08/22/03 class e-mail
- (B) Colombo-SA/INS 08/19/03 class e-mail
- (C) Colombo 1466, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Charge'
d'Affaires. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001471

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08-22-13
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CE
SUBJECT: GSL reviewing proposed anti-conversion bill as
Supreme Court reiterates Buddhism's "foremost" place

Refs: (A) Colombo-SA/INS 08/22/03 class e-mail
- (B) Colombo-SA/INS 08/19/03 class e-mail
- (C) Colombo 1466, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Charge'
d'Affaires. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a recent development on the
religious freedom front, a draft bill prohibiting the
conversion of Hindus is being reviewed by the GSL. In
addition, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court has re-affirmed
Buddhism's "foremost" place in society and ruled that
the propagation of other faiths can be curbed. There
has been no public outcry as of yet, but Christians and
others are quietly worried by the trend toward
restricting types of religious activity. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) PROPOSED ANTI-CONVERSION BILL: In a recent
development on the religious freedom front, the Sri
Lankan Ministry of Hindu Religious Affairs has drafted a
bill, which is entitled "Prohibition of Forcible and
Unethical Proselytisms or Conversions of Religions,"
prohibiting the conversion of Hindus. Proposed
prohibitions mentioned in the bill extend to the use of
related outreach-type material or media and
"allurements" of the gift or material benefit kind or
"fraudulent" inducements. Penalties for infringement of
the proposed law would be "not more than five years
imprisonment" and/or "a fine not exceeding 300,000
Rupees" (about USD 3,000).


3. (SBU) The proposed bill was drafted in the early
part of 2003 and submitted to the Cabinet for comment.
The Cabinet referred the proposed bill to the Attorney
General's office, where it is still being reviewed.
There is no indication if or when the draft might be
presented to Parliament for a vote. Copies of the draft
bill have not been made public. Mission, however, has
obtained a copy, which is contained in
Ref (A).


4. (C) The precise genesis of the draft bill is not
clear. Contacts have told us, however, that the Hindu
clergy is worried that Catholic and evangelical
Christian groups are converting their flock. These
concerns reportedly spurred the Minister of Hindu
Religious Affairs T. Maheswaran to propose the bill.


5. (SBU) SUPREME COURT RULING: In another religious
freedom-related development, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court
has struck down an effort to officially incorporate a
Catholic organization. A July 25 ruling by a three-
justice bench of the court stated that the Sri Lankan
Constitution only allows for an individual to observe
and practice a religion, but does not protect the right
to propagate. The ruling claims to guard against forced
conversion, and more crucially protect the "foremost"
place of Buddhism in Sri Lanka society as enshrined in
the Constitution. The court found that the planned
activities of the organization in question violated
these provisos. In making the ruling, the court was
essentially reiterating previous rulings guaranteeing
the "foremost" place of Buddhism, though its comments
regarding propagation of other faiths were somewhat
stronger than past rulings. The ruling, which is also
contained in Ref (A),received only limited local press
coverage.


6. (C) COMMENT: In general, although Buddhism is given
some preferences by the government, Sri Lanka has had a
solid religious freedom record. (Note: Sri Lanka is a
religious amalgam, with roughly 70 percent of the
population Buddhist, 15 percent Hindu, 8 percent
Christian, and 7 percent Muslim.) Representatives of
Christian organizations and other contacts, however,
have expressed private concerns to Mission about the
recent trend toward restricting types of religious
activity, as exemplified by the proposed bill and the
court's ruling. That said, there has been no public
outcry as of yet, although the concerns are beginning to
percolate to the surface. The situation needs to be
carefully watched to ensure that religion does not
become an irritant that compounds the country's endemic
ethnic tensions. END COMMENT.


7. (U) Minimize considered.
ENTWISTLE