Contents: Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after Buddhist-Muslim violence; Growing violence by Sri Lankan Buddhist hardliners against Tamils; North Korea says it will denuclearize if the regime is ‘secure’
Contents: India’s ‘Operation All-Out’ brings Kashmir closer to all-out war; Kashmir escalations building to all-out war; Multiple terrorist attacks across Pakistan kill nearly 50
Contents: Sri Lanka targets radical nationalist Buddhists in Bodu Bala Sena (BBS); Brief generational history of Sri Lanka and Bodu Bala Sena (BBS)
Contents: Sri Lanka Sinhalese Buddhist monks accused of racist hate speech against Hindu Tamils; Sri Lanka says that ’32 élite, well-educated Muslims’ have joined ISIS in Syria
Contents: Iran releases American sailors as end of sanctions approaches; Report: Sri Lankan government repeatedly torturing and raping Tamils; Sri Lanka joining the torture club, with Syria, Burundi, Zimbabwe
The principle of non-violence is central to Buddhist teachings, but in Sri Lanka some Buddhist monks are being accused of stirring up hostility towards other faiths and ethnic minorities. Their hard line is causing increasing concern.
More than half a million people attended a seafront mass in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, as Pope Francis announced that Reverend Joseph Vaz had been canonized as a saint. Vaz was a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists.
