By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

A protest march conducted by the Extremist Sinhala Ravaya (sound or roar of Sinhala)organization against cattle slaughter has now turned ugly with a Muslim owned beef stall being set ablaze enroute in the Southern Province coastal town of Tangalle in full view of the Police.

The incident has sent alarm bells ringing among Muslims engaged in the meat trade running beef stalls along the coastal areas of the Southern and Western Provinces as the protest march route is from Kataragama to Colombo.

Three ethno religious fascist organizations namely the Bodhu Bala Sena,Sinhala Ravaya and Ravana Balaya are spearheading a hate campaign against Sri Lankan muslims and Christians in the name of Sinhala Buddhism with tacit support from the political party the Jathika Hela Urumaya. These activities reportedly have the support of the upper echelons of the Rajapaksa regime.

After waging a vicious campaign against the “Halal”certification of the Muslim community these elements are now focusing attention on the sale of beef in Sri Lanka. The meat trade particularly the selling of beef is predominantly undertaken by the Muslims of Sri Lanka.

The ostensible campaign against cattle slaughter is a thinly veiled racist exercise targeting Muslims engaged in the meat trade.

The Sinhala Ravaya led by Venerable Akmeemana Dayaratne Thero began a protest march to Colombo demanding that the slaughter of cattle be banned in Sri Lanka.Dayaratne Thero is a former Parliamentarian of the Jathika Hela Urumaya who was allegedly involved in the illegal sale of the vehicle permit allocated to him as an MP for 6.5 million rupees.

The Sinhala Ravaya commenced its protest march from Kataragam Kirivehera in Hambantota district to Colombo on June 15th 2013. At commencement over a hundred participants including members of the Buddhist clergy and laity went in procession from Kathirkaamam/Kataragama.Later the numbers dwindled and fluctuated.A campaign soliciting signatures for a petition calling for a ban on cattle slaughter and sale of beef is also being conducted by the organization. The petition would be handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in person at “temple Trees”.

The Sinhala Ravaya march led by Venerable Magalkanda Suddhatha Thero reached Tangalle on Tuesday June 18th.Tangalle is situated between Hambantota and Matara and is 195 km away from Colombo. Hambantota and Matara towns are 43 km and 35 km away from Tangalle respectively.

When the Sinhala Ravaya march was passing through Tangalle town a Muslim owned beef stall was targeted by some participants in the procession. Although the shop was closed these elements attacked the place and set fire to it.

There were stacks of newspapers on the premises to be used for wrapping up the meat purchased by customers. These newspapers were piled up after which a fire was lit. The fire became a roaring blaze after some miscreants in the neighbourhood literally added fuel to the fire by pouring kerosene and petrol.

All this was done in the presence of a Police contingent headed by an Inspector of Police. The Police deployed to maintain law and order during the march did not even try to stop the arsonists.The Khakied fraternity seemed to be on the same wavelength as the “Saffron terrorists”.

People in the vicinity joined forces and doused the fire after the Sinhala Ravaya procession left the scene thereby preventing the fire from spreading further.

The Muslim owner of the meat stall lodged a complaint at the Tangalle Police station. As expected no arrests have been made so far.

The incident has caused much anxiety and concern among Muslims living along the coastal stretch along the Hambantota,Matara,Galle, Kalutara and Colombo districts through which the Sinhala Ravaya protest march is taking place.

Many localities along this route are populated by Muslims with several meat stalls and boutiques run by Muslims. Although the beef stalls are likely to be shut down as a precautionary measure when the procession draws near the community fears the worst. Even though Police personnel are stationed serious breaches of the peace are anticipated as the cops are not likely to maintain law and order if and when conflagrations occur.

Former Colombo deputy mayor and Secretary-General of the National Unity Front,Azath Salley has sent an urgent letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa complaing about the arson in Tangalle and the deteriorating situation. Salley has urged the President to ensure protection for Muslims and their properties along the Sinhala Ravaya protest march route.

Azath Salley’s uncle and cabinet minister AHM Fowzie met the Defence and Urban development ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and urged that Muslim business establishments in the Southern province be given protection.The Defence secretary agreed to do so and has reportedly ordered that enhanced protection be provided to Muslim businesses in each town or village as the Sinhala Ravaya march gets close to the place.

Despite protection being extended there is anxiety still as there are seious doubts about the Police doing their duty in a confrontational situation.Many attacks against Muslim establishments have been done in the presence of the Police who remain passive onlookers at best and tacit supporters of violence at worst. The attack in Tangalle was done in the presence of Police personnel under the command of an Inspector.

The campaign against Muslims in the beef trade has been gathering momentum in recent times. The slaughter and transport of attle from Polonnaruwa district has been suspended. Several local authorities including the Anuradhapura and Kandy municipalities have prohibited the killing of cattle within urban limits.

The on going campaign against cattle slaughter is likely to inflict a crippling blow to Muslims engaged in the beef trade. The racist nature of the anti-beef campaign is demonstrated by the fact that the targets are those selling the meat and not those consuming it.

A very large number of Buddhists also eat beef but the ethno religious fascists do not ask them to refrain from eating beef.Instead they demand that Beef not be sold or cattle killed.

DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at ~ dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com