Fundamentalist Buddhist groups clash in Sri Lanka

Siriwardhana

Sri Lanka police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd on June 24 at a remote town called Wanduramba in Galle district. Six persons were arrested in suspicion of violence, said the police later.

The crowd was attacking a religious center situated in Wanduramba. Around 2000 people led by hundreds of orthodox Buddhist monks were protesting against a new sect of Buddhism introduced by a layman called Siriwardhana. The person claims he is an incarnation of next Buddha the Maithri angering a section of fundamentalist Buddhists.

The mob had thrown stones at a seven story Buddhist center named as Sumedha Sangamaya run by this Siriwardhana. The angry mob accused that the religious faction was spreading ideology that Buddhism was wrong.

The agitation was held after a meting held in Wanduramba town and a Buddhist monk famous for violence led the conference.

Buddhist fundamentalism is on the rise in Sri Lanka as many groups of violent nature emerge and they appear chauvinistically threatening the existence of other religions. Clashes among these fundamental groups erupted at several locations earlier as well.

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