Buddhist monks led a mob of roughly 1000 people to vandalise a church and attack the pastor on 9th December, reported the Morning Star.
According to the Morning Star, the monks had given the church one day's notice to close down, proclaiming to the pastor that permission from Buddhist clergy was needed for Christian worship.
When the church refused, 80 monks led the mob to Jeevanalokaya Sabhawa church in the Weeraketiya area of the southern province of Hambantota on Sunday, and destroyed the church's furniture, equipment and vehicles, resulting in damages of upto US $4000. Despite the presence of police officers, the mob went on to assault the pastor - Pradeep, hitting him with a rock, and attack two police officers.
A source told the Morning Star:
"Buddhist monks are part of the ruling coalition government, and they operate with impunity,"
"This is not an isolated incident. At least 50 incidents of violence against Christians have been recorded by Christian groups this year."
