Sri Lankan government detains Muslim parliamentarian and bans burqa
Sri Lankan police announced on Tuesday that they were extending the detention of Muslim MP Rishad Bathiudeen and his younger brother Riyaj Bathiudeen for 90 more days under the country’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The men were arrested on April 24 under the draconian law.
President Gotabhaya Rajapakse’s cabinet also decided on Tuesday to ban the burqa and the niqab, traditional attire worn by some Muslim women.
Rishad Bathiudeen (Source: Twitter/rbathiudeen)
Both actions constitute an intensification of anti-Muslim communalism by the Rajapakse government and its racist allies, amid an increasing social and political crisis accelerated by the global pandemic.
Aluth avurudu is generally a relaxed period in the country where most people spend time with family following various traditions. But the SLPP/Rajapaksa Administration upended this situation and in the pre-avurudu period just as people were getting ready for the holidays, introduced a slew of measures, policy initiatives and draft legislation that were wide ranging in scope and breathtaking in audacity.
Firstly, as an Administration that made national security a political issue, to deal with the criticism that it had failed to identify, let alone bring to book the masterminds behind the Easter Sunday attacks, the Minister in charge of the subject claimed that a suspect in custody was in fact the mastermind behind the whole plot. The government then expanded the PTA to create special “rehabilitation centers” sans any due process safeguards for alleged extremists and followed these up with the proscription of about 12 organizations, allegedly involved in extremism, with extremism
The flag of Bangladesh. Credit: Royal Graphics/Shutterstock.
Dinajpur, Bangladesh, Feb 16, 2021 / 03:22 pm (CNA).- Bangladeshi Christians expressed concern and discontent with the local authorities after a Protestant church was reportedly vandalized and looted last week.
On Feb. 10, four Muslims allegedly entered the Emmanuel Church of Bangladesh in the Aditmari upazila, about 70 miles northeast of Dinajpur. The men approached on motorcycles and attacked the inside and outside of the church.
On the exterior, the perpetrators damaged the church’s sign and cut down trees. After breaking the lock, the attackers entered the church and took 30 chairs and two floor mats.
According to UCA News, Lovlu S. Levy, the community’s pastor, submitted a complaint to the local police Feb. 14, but the authorities have not taken action to investigate. Rather, the police have claimed that the incident was a land dispute.
AHRC Writes To Cardinal Malcolm Ranjit On Dignity Of Women Prisoners
His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith
Archbishop’s House,
December 22, 2020
Dear Cardinal Ranjith,
On behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission, I write to make a request for you to make a special gift to the women prisoners in Sri Lanka, which would be a continuing gesture of goodwill towards those needy women, beginning with Christmas 2020.
First of all, we take this opportunity to wish your Eminence, the Bishop’s Conference of Sri Lanka and all Catholics, a very happy and blessed Christmas. Christmas this year is being celebrated in a grim atmosphere due to the circumstances of COVID-19. The world over, normal religious ceremonies and celebrations have been modified to meet the demands of the moment and the consideration of the health of all concerned.
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