Sri Lanka's justice minister meets BBS

by Thusiyan
Dec 22, 2016
Photograph: BBC Sinhala

Sri Lanka’s justice minister met with Buddhist monks from the extremist Bodu Bala Sena organisations in Batticaloa on Wednesday.

The Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe met with the monks to discuss issues they had raised around problems faced by the Sinhalese living in the district, reports Colombo Gazette. The minister came with offerings for the Buddhist monks.
Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera thanked the minister for the meeting, which he said was “productive”.

There have been increased ethnic tensions in Batticaloa in recent weeks, after a Buddhist monk was filmed threatening to kill a Tamil government official in Batticaloa, calling him a "Tamil dog”. Tensions grew earlier this month as a mob of Sinhala Buddhist monks from Bodu Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya with lion flags attempted to enter the town, despite the local Magistrate prohibiting their presence.

 

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