By

Zacki Jabbar

It was not the Sinhalese of Alutgama and Beruwela who had attacked Muslims in their areas on June 16 but outsiders including members of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) sent there with the connivance of leading figures in the government, the UNP said yesterday.

Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe told a news conference in Colombo, after meeting a number of media organisations to discuss the Aluthgama and Beruwela violence which left four dead and many houses and business establishments burnt down, that the Rajapaksa regime had falsely claimed that the attack on a Buddhist monk’s vehicle in Aluthgama had provoked the Sinhalese in the area into attacking the Muslims.

However, Muslims and Sinhalese including Buddhist monks in the area denied any involvement. They accused a mob from outside led by the BBS and backed by senior figures in the government and some in the Defence Establishment of making use of a minor incident which could have easily been settled, to unleash communal violence, the Opposition Leader charged.

Wickremesinghe said that no sooner had the clashes erupted in Dharga Town which spread to Beruwela and Bentota, than the Rajapaksa regime dispatched letters to the print and electronic media warning them not to implicate it in the disturbances and if not heeded they could face the consequences.”It was nothing but censorship to hide the fact that the rulers and some in the defence establishment extended support to the rioters who went berserk killing innocent people and destroying private property.”

Accusing the ruling UPFA of openly supporting racism, the UNP leader said that the Aluthgama and Beruwela mayhem had brought all Sinhala Buddhists into disrepute.”It was unfortunate that the Muslims have suffered in this manner and such acts should be condemned by all right thinking people. But, I think the greater damage has been done to the Sinhala Buddhists who would now be branded as racists and intolerant race.”

Courtesy:The Island