retaliation,”saidFr Clement V. Annadasof the St. Mary’s
Cathedral,about 100metresfromZionChurch, which
wasattacked. “Thisis obviouslynotan incidentthatwill
be forgotten. But no one is holding the Muslim
communityresponsiblefor this,”he saidin responseto a
question.
Mostpeople whospoketo Frontlineremember
wheretheywereandwhattheyweredoingon thatday.
“It’sbutnatural,”saida lawyer, whosefriendwasat the
Shangri-LaHotel thatmorning.He leftjustbeforethe
bombswentoff.“Wewillrememberit all ourlives,”he
added.
Anxietyaboutlovedones,fearandangeroverthe
outrageousblasts,and concernfor thefuture were
common threads across conversations. “I was too
stunned,” said a businesswoman in Colombo. “I
remembercryingfor no reason for morethana week,”
sheadded.Shewasnotalonein thisgrief,as seenfrom
the experiences of manywhowerenot directlyaffected by
the blasts.
However,the realityon the groundis thatMuslims,
whoconstituteabout10 percentof theSriLankan
population,are in the samesituationthatthe Tamilsin
Sinhala-majoritySriLanka facednotlongago.The
Tamilswerehoundedandtargetedin the country during
the decadeswhenthe LTTEheldsway overthe Northern
Province.Even after the war ended in 2009, the
communitywasharassed, somemembers of theTamil
communityfromthe NorthernProvincesaid. Notmuch
helpwasforthcoming fromthe Muslimsat thattime.
Nowthe talkof communalharmonyandthe gestures
remainjustthat.TheMuslimcommunitydoesnotfind
muchsupportfromthe Tamilsor fromanyother group in
Sri Lanka despite gestures such as inter-religious
meetings.“What canthesemeetingsachieveotherthan
beinga photo-op?” askedA.L.M. Sabeel, convener of the
NationalFrontfor GoodGovernance, a politicalparty
witha base amongMuslims.“Theyall come,sit and
possiblyhavea meal or speak,andthenleave. Thereal
cooperationhasto happen on thegroundamongthe
people.No realstepsare beingtakentowardsthat,”he
said.
Majoritarianpoliticshasfounda newenemy thatit
wasin search of, andextremeright-wing elementshave
beenmakingoneunreasonable demandafteranother
withthe aimof removing Muslims fromtop positionsin
differentwalksof life.Thefirst of these wasto dismissthe
MuslimGovernorsof twoprovincesanda Minister
whom manySinhalasbelieve,withoutanybasis,helped
the perpetratorsof the blasts.AMONKONFAST
Althoughtheright-wingelementsweremakingthese
demandsandthreateningto lay siegeto Colombountil
theirdemandsweremet,theydidnotactupontheir
threat exceptfora monk,whois alsoa Memberof
Parliament, who did it with dramatic effect and
consequence. Athuraliye Rathana Thera decided to
undertake a fast—until the Muslim politicians
resigned—at the DaladaMaligawa in Kandy,oneof the
holiest places of worship for Sri Lankan Sinhala
Buddhists.Hisfast,whichbeganon May31, demanded
thatPresidentMaithripala SirisenaremoveWestern
Province Governor Azath Salley, Eastern Province
GovernorM.L.A.M.HizbullahandMinisterfor Industry
andCommerceRishad Bathiudeenbecausehe believed
thattheysupported Islamistextremism.
Politiciansandotherleadersinitially dismissedtheAREMEMBRANCECEREMONYin front of St. Anthony's
Church in Colombo on May 21. (Right) Archbishopof
Colombo Malcolm Ranjith with Buddhistspiritual leader
IttapanaDhammalankara Anu Nayake MahaThero at a
press conferencein Colombo on May 14.AFP AFP