Buddhist nationalism behind Sri Lanka's violent surge
The island nation's government is receiving new support from an unusual political group.
from the June 18, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Nine seats is not many in a 225-seat parliament, but the monks wield greater power because they share their nationalist ideology with many other members of the government, says Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who runs the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a think tank in Colombo.
Despite enjoying a strong majority on the island nation, the presence of 50 million Tamils across the Palk Strait in southern India can rattle Sinhalese Buddhists. Buddhist nationalists are able to tap into deep fears that any territorial concessions to the Tamils would lead to eventual Indian subjugation.
"I feel so sorry for the Tamils who are suffering," says a Sinhalese taxi driver in Colombo. "But giving them power in the north would not be good. They might try to extend their power."
The monks have used their new clout to urge the president, Mahinda Rajapakse, to honor the vow with which he came to power in late 2005: to destroy the Tigers.
The Tamil desire for a homeland is just an excuse for violence, says Mr. Rathana. "Sri Lanka was totally a Sinhalese kingdom and most people accept that."
Western governments have long been appalled by the tactics of the Tamil Tigers, who terrorize both Sinhalese and Tamils with their bombings and the forcible recruitment of child soldiers.
Now, several governments have expressed horror over independent reports of government collusion in abductions and murders of civilian Tamils, particularly in the north and east.
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