IN PROTEST AT EMBASSY, BUDDHIST MONKS CALL FOR A

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001515

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DS/IP/ITA, DS/IP/SA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2014
TAGS: PREL KIRF CE
SUBJECT: IN PROTEST AT EMBASSY, BUDDHIST MONKS CALL FOR A
USG BAN ON "HOLLYWOOD BUDDHA"

REF: COLOMBO 1503 (NOTAL)

Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission. Reason 1.4
(b,d).


1. (C) ONE GROUP OF MONKS PROTEST "HOLLYWOOD BUDDHA:" On
September 13, the U.S. Embassy was again the site of a
protest, led by Buddhist monks, against "Hollywood Buddha," a
newly released film in the United States. Three Buddhist
monks from the National Bhikku ("Monk") Council, an
organization associated with the Sinhala-nationalistic
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party, presented two letters to
poloff requesting that the USG "take necessary steps to ban
this movie immediately." (While connected with the protest,
the letter hand-over was pre-arranged, with the monks
prepared to enter the Embassy's inspection room to deliver
them.) Although not included in the English translation, the
Sinhala version of the letter stated that the United States,
a "Christian country," would not tolerate a Christian image
being used in an insulting way. The monks, one of whom was a
JHU member himself, informed poloff that Sri Lanka was
tolerant of all religions, but warned that unrest among Sri
Lankans could occur if the movie was allowed to continue
showing. Poloff replied to the monks that the United States
was also respectful of all religions, including Buddhism, and
that the United States government was not involved in the
making of the film nor could it censor it anyway. She urged
the monks to contact the movie director and producer directly
to voice their views. (Note: According to local press, Sri
Lankan Ambassador Subasinghe has been in touch with the
producer, who has already apologized publicly.)


2. (SBU) The group of roughly 150 protesters, including
Buddhist monks and schoolchildren, demonstrated for
approximately 20 minutes before peacefully departing. The
Embassy local guard force and members of the local police
station provided Embassy security and crowd management,
keeping the traffic moving in front of the Embassy building
throughout.


3. (C) ANOTHER GROUP OF SINHALESE NATIONLISTS PROTEST:
Separate from the September 13 protest, Mission received a
faxed letter from the Patriotic National Movement, another
Sinhalese nationalistic organization aligned with the leftist
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party. (One of the eight
signatures on the letter was that of Wimal Weerawansa, JVP MP
and Propaganda Secretary.) The letter stated that the
director's efforts to address the situation -- such as the
removal of the offensive advertising poster -- were
inadequate and called on the government to demand the removal
of "all scenes which ridicule Buddhism." The letter
characterized "Hollywood Buddha," which "scoffs at Lord
Buddha's character and His teaching" as "unethical." It
further declared that the movie, along with other
anti-Buddhist efforts, were part of a "conspiracy to incite
Buddhists towards a religious war."


4. (C) COMMENT: The Buddhist monks and nationalistic
Sinhalese who have been most strident about "Hollywood
Buddha" are from the extremes of the political spectrum.
These two groups also helped lead the legal charge in Sri
Lanka to institute a religious "anti-conversion" bill. The
majority of Sri Lankans have not been vocal about the movie.
The small sizes of the two protests indicate the low level of
interest and/or the understanding by Colombo-based Buddhists,
at least, that the USG is not involved with the film. END
COMMENT.
LUNSTEAD