Recent reports from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka demonstrate the continuing crusade of militant Buddhist monks against evangelical churches in Sri Lanka.
On the evening of November 8, five Buddhist monks, one elderly man, and ten young men broke into the Emmanuel Church in Nawala, stealing telephone indexes, files and books and attempting to remove a computer. When the pastor was alerted and arrived at the church, he was prevented from calling the police. The church's security guard was threatened if he interfered. When the intruders left, they told the pastor to come to the Welikada Police station, where the monks accused the Christians of "unethical conversion by financial and material enticement." The stolen property was not returned to the pastor but a further meeting has been called to attempt a settlement.
On November 13, the office of World Vision attacked by a group of Buddhist monks and other men, forcing the director and several World Vision officials to go to the government's Buddha Sasana Ministry. In the attack, one female worker at the office was slapped by a monk. The monks demanded that the ministry seal the office and investigate their work, accusing them of "unethical conversion."
 Sri Lankan monks |
In two other attacks on churches, the Four Square Gospel Church in Digana was set on fire. Though the pastor and others managed to extinguish the fire before any structural damage was done, the pulpit, mats and musical instruments were destroyed. On November 14, an independent church in Anaradhapura was set on fire when a petrol bomb was thrown at the church.
In a November 21 edition of the London news magazine, The Observer, the attacks are blamed on controversial missionary activities by fundamentalist Christian sects, "flush with American funding" who have been targeting the poorer sections of Sri Lankan society. Even attacks by Buddhists against Roman Catholic churches are blamed by The Observer on these "fundamentalists," seeing it as a reaction by Buddhists inflamed by people being allegedly bribed into converting to Christianity.
Said Glenn Penner, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs, "I am absolutely stunned to read such blatant misrepresentation of the persecution facing evangelical Christians in Sri Lanka. It is obvious that The Observer was duped into becoming the mouthpiece of the Buddhist persecutors with this article. I wonder if they actually spoke with any evangelical Christians when researching this story. Probably the only thing worse than no reporting of Christian persecution by the media is inaccurate reporting. I think that it is no coincidence that this story has been widely posted on Buddhist websites around the world. You can't pay for better propaganda."
Pray that Christians will be free to continue ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of the Sri Lankan people without fear. Pray that the truth about these attacks will come out.
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