Amid decline in number of church attacks, new

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000760

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL, DRL/IRF, DRL/CRA; NSC
FOR E. MILLARD

PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05-11-14
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI KIRF CE
SUBJECT: Amid decline in number of church attacks, new
calls for "anti-conversion" law could spark tensions

Refs: (A) Colombo 747, and previous

- (B) SA/INS-Colombo 05/06/04 unclass email

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Over the course of the past several
months, there has been a sharp decline in the number of
attacks on Christian churches in Sri Lanka compared to
the late 2003 - early 2004 timeframe. The decline seems
attributable, at least in part, to the public
condemnation of the attacks by GSL officials and also
solid police work which has led to the arrest and
prosecution of a number of alleged perpetrators. That
said, Mission has received recent reports that there may
have been two more attacks in April. The overall
positive trend in the situation could be disrupted if
the JHU party, led by Buddhist monks, moves forward with
plans to submit an "anti-conversion" bill to Parliament
soon. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) SHARP DECLINE IN NUMBER OF CHURCH ATTACKS:
Over the course of the past several months, there has
been a sharp decline in the number of attacks on
Christian churches in Sri Lanka compared to the late
2003 - early 2004 timeframe. From August 2003 until
early February 2004, Mission confirmed that dozens of
attacks on Christian churches, and sometimes on pastors
and parishioners (see Ref A) had taken place. By early
February, reports of attacks had largely tapered off,
although Mission has recently heard that there may have
been at least two new attacks in April (see Para 5
below).


3. (C) GSL STEPS: The decline in the number of attacks
seems attributable, at least in part, to two major
factors: the public condemnation of the attacks by GSL
officials and solid police work. In early 2004, for
example, President Kumaratunga publicly condemned the
attacks and warned that perpetrators would be punished.
Other GSL officials have also spoke out in public
against the attacks. In terms of stepped-up law
enforcement, the police also arrested at least two
separate gangs of alleged perpetrators. In one such
case, seven men were arrested for attacking an Apostolic
church in Kurunegala District in north-central Sri Lanka
in February. The men, who were later released on bail,
face a court date in July, according to Officer-in-
Charge S.I. Chandrasekera. In another case in Kurunegala
District, three men were arrested in February for
allegedly attacking a church with firebombs. They were
subsequently released on bail. Kurunegala District
Police Inspector Sanjeeva Bandara told Pol FSN on May 11
that the case of the three men is scheduled to come to
trial in early June. Former Interior Ministry Secretary
M.N. Junaid told the DCM and RSO May 11 that the
February arrests had broken the back of the main groups
of perpetrators, which had included Buddhist monks and
one university professor.


4. (C) Commenting on the situation, Reverend David
Beling, a Colombo-based pastor with the Assemblies of
God religious denomination who has been outspoken on the
situation, told poloff on May 11 that he thought that
the frequency and the intensity of attacks on churches
had decreased significantly in recent months. He
attributed this turn of events to "people's interests
shifting to other matters," such as the April 2
parliamentary elections.


5. (SBU) REPORTS OF NEW ATTACKS: Despite the ebb in
the overall number of attacks since February, Mission
has recently heard that at least two incidents may have
taken place in April. Information on the two reported
incidents is contained below:
-- On April 11 (Easter Sunday),the Christian Fellowship
Church in Wadduwa town, located approximately 30
kilometers south of Colombo, was allegedly attacked by a
mob led by a Buddhist monk. Members of the mob threw
rocks through the windows of the church and beat
worshippers with sticks as they attempted to exit the
church, according to Roshini Wickremesinghe, the
Communications Director of the National Christian
Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Mission has
confirmed that local police are investigating the
incident.

-- Also on April 11, the residence of a pastor of an
Assembly of God church in Ampara District in eastern Sri
Lanka was firebombed. There were no injuries in the
attack. Police are investigating the incident.


6. (C) RENEWED CALLS FOR "ANTI-CONVERSION" LAW: In
other religious freedom developments, the Jathika Hela
Urumaya (JHU) party has publicly pledged to introduce
legislation in Parliament that would prohibit religious
conversions. (The JHU is a new party that has nine MPs
in Parliament. All of the MPs are Buddhist monks.)
Athureliye Rathana, the JHU spokesperson, told us on May
11 that the JHU would attempt to introduce the bill when
Parliament reopened on May 18. (In 2003, "anti-
conversion" legislation was drafted, but was never
formally introduced in Parliament.) In an article in
the English-language Sunday LEADER on May 9, Rathana --
touching on common themes often mentioned by those who
support such legislation -- was quoted as stating:
"there are groups of people that take advantage of the
poverty of the people by giving them money to convert
them" and "people should not be forced to accept another
religion." The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
government has not indicated whether or not it would
support an "anti-conversion" bill, although most
observers believe it would not. Christian Affairs
Minister Milroy Fernando, for example, has been quoted
in the press as stating that he would have serious
qualms about any such proposal. For its part, the
Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, a key
UPFA coalition partner, has yet to commit itself to
proposed legislation in this area. In a May 10
conversation with DCM, former Interior and Christian
Affairs Minister (and UNP member of Parliament) John
Amaratunga said he doubted the legislation would pass if
put forward.


7. (C) COMMENT: The overall news in the religious
freedom area is positive at this point. The sharp
decline in the number of attacks on churches is
particularly welcome given that the number of such
incidents was at epidemic levels in 2003 - early 2004.
We believe that USG discussions with GSL interlocutors
helped prod the Sri Lankan government to take a stronger
tack against the attacks and their perpetrators. The
bad news is that the renewed calls for "anti-conversion"
legislation could disrupt current positive trends by
sparking religious tensions. It would seem a tough sell
to deter the leaders of the JHU from pressing the
proposed bill, as they seem quite committed to moving
forward on the matter. While it has not firmly
committed itself one way or the other, our sense is that
the government will be hesitant to go along with the
JHU. President Kumaratunga has a good track record in
this area and is unlikely to support moves that could
undermine religious harmony. END COMMENT.


8. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD