Author: Staff
Publication: Baptist Press
Date: June 25, 2004
URL: http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=18579
The Sri Lankan Cabinet has granted
initial approval of a draft bill designed to prevent religious conversions,
according to a June 24 report by Compass Direct news service.
The Act for the Protection of Religious
Freedom, approved June 18, will now be revised by the government's legal
draftsmen before being enacted as law, Compass Direct reported.
Two separate acts were initially
proposed to parliament -- one by the Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya, a minority
party allied with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and one by Ratnasiri
Wickremanayake, the Minister for Buddha Sasana (Buddhist Affairs), the
news service noted.
The draft bill on prohibition of
forcible conversion proposed by the JHU was released in late May. It advocated
fines of up to $5,027 and a maximum of seven years in prison for anyone
involved in illegal conversion, Compass Direct said. Both the convert and
the person responsible for his or her conversion would suffer penalties
if found guilty.
The JHU bill was scheduled for presentation
to parliament June 8, but the JHU announced in parliament that morning
that they would not vote with the government on any issue. A scuffle broke
out between the JHU and members of the opposition, and parliament was dissolved.
Further sessions were postponed until July 20, according to Compass Direct.
Under the terms of the Sri Lankan
constitution, once a law has been passed by parliament, there is no opportunity
for judicial review. If the JHU bill had been presented June 8, opponents
would have had only seven days to present their objections to the Supreme
Court.
Following the suspension of parliament
June 8, Wickremanayake presented his own draft bill to the cabinet. The
Act for the Protection of Religious Freedom, much wider in scope than the
one proposed by the JHU, was based on recommendations put forward by the
Buddha Sasana Commission of 2002, Compass Direct noted.
The 2002 commission called for the
introduction of anti- conversion laws and the creation of an informal court
system or "Sanghadhikarana," presided over by Buddhist monks. The Sanghadhikarana
would resolve village level disputes without reference to the police or
courts of law.
Compass Direct said observers are
concerned that the introduction of the Sanghadhikarana in tandem with anti-
conversion laws could have serious implications for religious minorities.
Wickremanayake's bill effectively
makes conversion from one religion to another under any circumstances a
criminal offense. Section 2 stipulates that no person shall convert or
attempt to convert or aid or abet acts of conversion of a person to a different
religion.
If the bill becomes law, Sri Lanka
will break with several international conventions, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion, Compass Direct reported. The ICCPR
stipulates that no one should be subject to coercion, which would impair
his freedom to have or adopt a religion of his own choice. Anti- conversion
legislation itself could be seen as a form of coercion.
Despite this, Sri Lanka seems determined
to adopt legislation modeled after similar laws in India.
The campaign to introduce anti-conversion
laws began soon after the Buddha Sasana Commission in 2002 and intensified
in 2003, with 91 attacks on Christians and churches last year.
Until the campaign began, most Buddhists
in Sri Lanka lived peacefully with adherents of other faiths. But in 2002,
senior Buddhist clergy became disturbed by the decline of Buddhism and
the growth of Christian churches in rural areas. The 2002 commission was
an attempt to address this issue. One source confirmed to Compass that,
during the commission's tenure, the clergy laid out a clear strategy to
suppress the growth of Christianity and stir up popular opposition to the
Christian faith.
In September 2003, more than 1,500
Buddhist monks gathered for an anti-conversion rally in Colombo. They accused
Christians of offering financial enticements to the poor to encourage them
to convert -- a claim which Christians vehemently denied.
Tensions increased in December 2003
when the well- known Buddhist monk Gangodawila Soma, a key figure in the
anti-conversion campaign, died of a heart attack while traveling in Russia.
Christians were immediately accused of a conspiracy leading to his death,
despite three autopsies showing that Soma died of natural causes.
In January 2004, a group of Buddhist
monks launched a fast, demanding that the government enact anti-conversion
laws within the next 60 days. Parliament agreed in principle and the fast
was called off.
But when President Chandrika Kumaratunga
dissolved parliament in February and called for snap elections, the introduction
of the new law was postponed. The Buddhist clergy immediately formed the
JHU party to contest the elections in April. They won nine seats and eventually
formed an alliance with the president, effectively giving them considerable
power in government.
The JHU now finds itself in a difficult
position, Compass Direct observed. Having vowed not to vote with the government
on any issue, they are now unable to vote in favor of the new legislation.
Even as the cabinet gave initial
approval for the new legislation, a fresh attack was underway. On June
18, several Buddhist monks drove through the village of Wadduwa in a van,
calling residents to a protest march the following day.
On June 19, about 50 monks led a
crowd of 150 people to the local Christian Fellowship Church and staged
a protest rally. Police officers arrived at the scene but were unable to
control the mob. The crowd broke into the church, threw chairs at the altar,
pulled down Scripture banners and verbally threatened the daughters of
the pastor, who was absent at the time.
On Sunday, June 20, police officers
assigned to protect the church arrived before the morning service and managed
to prevent a small group of protestors from breaking into the building,
Compass Direct recounted. But a larger crowd of 200 people soon arrived,
waving banners and placards. Bricks, stones and petrol bombs were thrown
at the church, damaging the roof and windows. Police officers used tear
gas in an effort to dispel the crowd; in return, they were pelted with
stones.
The pastor was finally forced to
announce that he would suspend all meetings at the church.
The disturbance in Wadduwa was the
latest in a series of 50 incidents throughout Sri Lanka in the first six
months of 2004.
Sri Lankan Christians have asked
the international community to support them in protest against the new
legislation, according to Compass Direct.
The bill is intended to strengthen
the "mutual trust/unity that exists among religions and with a view to
protecting the religious freedom that people have enjoyed in the past.
An act to provide for the prohibition of conversion to another religion
forcibly or by use of force or inducement, or by fraud, or by unethical
means or in any other manner ...."
The key focus of the bill appears
to be on the person responsible for the conversion, rather than the person
who actually converts, although both are covered by the bill, Compass Direct
reported.
Section 2 states: "No person shall
convert or attempt to convert another person to another religion, and no
person shall provide assistance or encouragement towards such conversion
to another religion."
Sections 3, 4 and 5 deal with "conversion
by force," which includes persuading someone to attend "prayers or prayer
meetings of any religion of which he is not a member." This applies particularly
to any employer or person holding a position of trust or responsibility,
including teachers, hospital staff and children's caregivers, Compass Direct
said.
Under Section 5(v), if conversion
is "committed" by a group of persons, "every director or shareholder ...
partner, member, employee or officer of that group or company shall be
guilty of an offense."
Under Section 5(vi), any non-permanent
citizen of Sri Lanka who is found guilty of an offense under the act may
be expelled from the republic and banned from re-entry, according to Compass
Direct.
Under Section 6, court action against
conversion may be initiated by the police, by any person "affected aggrieved
by an offense" or by anyone "interested in the welfare of the public who
has reason to believe that the provisions of this Act have been contravened."
--30--
Copyright 2004 Compass Direct,
a news service based in Santa Ana, Calif., focusing on Christians worldwide
who are persecuted for their faith. Used by permission.
