SRI LANKA: CHRISTIAN PASTORS RECOUNT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001386

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08-20-14
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: CHRISTIAN PASTORS RECOUNT
INCIDENTS OF HARASSMENT

Ref: Colombo 1379, and previous

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: During an August 12 visit by the
political intern and FSN specialist to Christian
churches in the Colombo region, local pastors expressed
anxiety over recent attacks and threats they and their
congregations have faced, especially in the wake of an
outspoken Buddhist monk's death in December. In many of
the areas visited, Christian clergy felt the police were
of very little help, if any, and support from within the
community had declined due to fear. They also conveyed
concern regarding the proposed religious anti-conversion
bill in parliament. Many interlocutors feared that if
the bill is passed, the harassment will not only
intensify, but also be legally sanctioned. END SUMMARY.

Church Leaders Describe Harassment
--------------


2. (C) On August 12, political intern visited five
Christian churches and groups in Colombo and its
outskirts. A majority of the country's churches are in
the Colombo area. Most of the pastors the political
intern spoke with operated churches with congregations
of about 100-200 people. Many of these small churches,
such as the Christian Fellowship Church in Talpitya,
were former residences where the pastor's family lived
either above or adjacent to the place of worship. (An
Evangelical church visited by the political intern in a
rural area of the south also had a similar structure.)
In contrast, the People's Church in Nawala, with a
congregation of about 5,000 and services in three
languages, had a more traditional setup. The churches
visited on August 12 represented several denominations:
Evangelical, Assembly of God, and Pentecostal.


3. (C) Most of the churches visited had been subject to
attacks, particularly within the last 12 months, by what
pastors termed "local mobs." The various clergymen
described the attackers as organized gangs of local men,
numbering anywhere from 30 to 250. The religious
leaders charged that the attackers had assaulted them
and their families both verbally and physically,
sometimes using objects such as petrol bombs and stones.
While most of the clergymen were not severely wounded,
some sustained injuries that did require minor
hospitalization. All of the organized attacks appeared
to have been instigated, if not led, by local Buddhist
monks who claimed the pastors were responsible for
unethical conversions, these Christian interlocutors felt.


4. (C) In speaking with the political intern, Godfrey
Yogarajah of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance
of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) stated that there have been 43
attacks on Christian churches this year. (Note: NCEASL
claimed 91 attacks in 2003.) Mr. Yogarajah traced the
roots of the problem back to a 1991 presidential
commission investigating non-governmental organization
(NGO) activities in Sri Lanka. The commission
classified churches, such as Assembly of God, and
Christian organizations, such as World Vision, under the
NGO category. Yogarajah said that during the
commission's hearings, citizens were allowed to bring
numerous allegations against NGOs. Yogarajah said that
many of these allegations, which received prominent
media coverage, were unfounded. In addition, he felt
that the whole episode fostered public animosity against
Christians and the Western world, with the December 2003
death from natural causes of Venerable Soma Thero, a
Buddhist monk who had been especially outspoken and
inflammatory about the issue of Christian conversions,
providing a pretext for Buddhist extremists to act on
this growing antagonism. Pastor Ayesha of the Assembly
of God Church in Jayala, who was attacked prior to Soma
Thero's death in December 2003, also tracked the
beginning of tensions between Christians and Buddhists
to the NGO commission.


5. (C) Several other clergymen stated that their
churches had not witnessed any problems in their
communities prior to the death of Venerable Soma Thero
in mid-December 2003. In many of the areas visited, the
Christian pastors said the police were of little help,
if any, and what limited support existed within these
Buddhist communities had declined due to fear of
reprisals from other Buddhists. Several pastors also
alleged that specific monks in the Jathika Hela Urumaya
(JHU) party had been responsible for instigating, and
sometimes leading, attacks against them.

Specific Incidents
--------------


6. (C) Rev. Sunil Hewage, pastor of the Christian
Fellowship Church [Assembly of God] in Talpitya, relayed
that for six years his church had maintained an amicable
relationship with the village until the passing away of
Ven. Soma Thero in late December. In the days following
the monk's death, however, a mob of about 250 people,
led by three local monks, came in the night to attack
the pastor's church and home. A similar confrontation
occurred in April 2004 around Easter. After the
December 2003 incident, the pastor stopped regular
services. During another episode in June 2004, local
villagers ordered informal prayer meetings to cease.
According to Hewage, limited police action was taken in
all of the incidents, and several of the Buddhist monks
in charge of these attacks were arrested although they
were subsequently released on bail. Six villagers were
also arrested. Court cases against two of the monks and
the six villagers are underway. Although the police are
currently providing around-the-clock protection for the
pastor and his family, Hewage highlighted the increasing
financial burden posed by court fees and decreased
church revenue.


7. (C) Pastor Chrisso Handy, a well-known Evangelical
pastor at People's Church in Colombo, stated that his
church had not received any direct threats, though
several of his fellow pastors had been intimidated by
local gangs. He reported that before Ven. Soma Thero's
death, he had enjoyed a fairly cordial rapport with the
surrounding Buddhist community. Since this event,
however, relations have been strained. In his opinion,
initial intimidation of churches often emanates from the
local Buddhist temple or those connected to it, but the
final assault usually does not. Pastor Handy blamed the
growing animosity on what he described as the monks'
increased alienation and aloofness from their own
congregations which, he said, prompts the dissatisfied
to look to the church, and not the temple, for financial
and emotional support.


8. (C) There have been incidents of church attacks
throughout the country. In rural areas, where local
monks have more influence in the community, problems are
more widespread. In most cases, intimidation of the
Christian community has been initiated through the local
Buddhist temples, with monks arranging protests and
rallies to rouse the local Buddhist community, according
to local interlocutors. Although pastors are the main
targets of harassment, lay Christians in these
predominantly Buddhist areas are undergoing hardship as
well, as many of them are prohibited by both local
officials and other residents from running their
businesses.

Christian Clergy on Religious Anti-Conversion Bill
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Pastor Handy believes that the proposed anti-
conversion bill is "built on a fallacy" of forced
conversions. There is no evidence of forced
conversions, he contended, adding that he personally
finds unethical conversions to be "repulsive."
Moreover, although he has repeatedly urged local
Buddhist monks to come to him with reports of such
unethical conversions so appropriate action can be
taken, the monks have never presented any cases. He
expressed concern that if the anti-conversion bill
passes, the police may interpret its restrictions
broadly and use the law to justify abuse against
Christians. Godfrey Yogarajah, like Handy, said that he
has met with JHU officials multiple times, urging them
to help form an inter-religious council or conduct a
joint investigation of incidents of alleged unethical
conversion; however, the political group has not been
responsive. He also feared the passage of the anti-
conversion bill, stating that its vague definitions of
words such as "force" and "fraudulent" granted vast
discretionary power in its implementation.


10. (C) COMMENT: Although attacks on Christian
churches have diminished in frequency in recent months,
many in the Christian community with whom we met say
they still live in fear and feel unable to practice
their faith openly. While the violence has subsided, if
an anti-conversion bill passes, attacks could well
escalate once more. Leading government officials have
publicly spoken out against church attacks, but the
local Christian community has felt that support or
intervention on its behalf by the government and police
has been inconsistent. Although the August 17 decision
by the Supreme Court has dimmed the prospects for the
anti-conversion bill's passage (see Reftel),anxiety
among the Christian community runs high. At a time when
the country is trying to recover from years of ethnic
violence, this further division of communities within
Sri Lanka can only impede the healing process. END
COMMENT.

ENTWISTLE