BBS warns Muslim group over anti-Israeli protests in Colombo
Recollecting significant Israeli support to Sri Lanka’s successful war against terrorism, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has warned that it would mount a counter protest campaign if Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ) launched demonstrations in Colombo against the ongoing Israeli operations against Hamas.
A senior BBS spokesperson told The Island yesterday that the BBS was aware of SLTJ’s efforts to launch protests in Colombo most probably today (Aug 13) condemning the government of Israel.
The BBS official said that the organization had no relationship with the Jewish state, though it felt the Sri Lankan government couldn’t forget the assistance received from Israel during the war.
Israel supplied a range of armaments, including Kfir jets, Dvora and Shaldag class fast attack craft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, anti-missile syetems for Mi-24 helicopter gunships as well as combat training.
Strongly condemning the government’s failure to prevent SLTJ from coming onto the streets against Israel, the BBS spokesman said that the government was aware of its decision to launch a protest campaign in Colombo.
Last week, the JVP protested outside the US embassy in Colombo against Israeli military action.
Sri Lanka re-established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 2002 soon after the LTTE captured strategic Elephant Pass base.
Ven.Galagodaatte Gnanasara thera said that the SLTJ’s role in protests organised by the government was meant to strengthen its base. The government should realize the danger posed by SLTJ and groups with similar objectives, Ven. Thera said, vowing the BBS wouldn’t hesitate to take the required steps unless the government acted swiftly and decisively to neutralise the growing threat.
The BBS stressed that the SLTJ wouldn’t be allowed to exploit the situation in Gaza to its advantage. The BBS asserted that both Israel and Palestine should take responsibility for the crisis in Gaza. Accusing Hamas terrorists as well as global powers of causing mayhem in Gaza, the BBS said that the SLTJ was seeking to strengthen its cause at the expense of Sri Lanka’s relations with Israel.
The BBS said that those accusing Israel of accountability issues were strangely silent on what was going on in Syria and the neighbouring region. Referring to ongoing large scale operations conducted by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) terrorists in the Middle East, the BBS said that Muslim organizations here should be concerned about bloody violence caused by terrorists against their own before taking on Israel.
(Courtesy: The Island)
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It is upto the people of Sri Lanka to decide whether Israel’s help won the war or the support of Islamic nations. Any attempt to globalize Sri Lankan issues be condemned. (People may rally round JVP to raise umbrellas while raining abroad instead of heeding to thow n bala sena)
I dont know where the BBS got all that information about Israel backing the GOSL in the war against tiger terrorist. Even after the capitulation of the terrorists have not left a foot print about post conflict development effort.
BBS should take into account that the majority of the global community has condemned Israeli aggression with the slaughter of 100s of plaestenians. If the BBS contention is that backing of Israel means the support of the west they are sadly mistaken
With this sort of propaganda BBS is fast losing its credibility as a movement that could provide leadership to the sinhalese, with it creating a sinhala solidarity movement a movement that the sinhalese has been yearning during colonial and post colonial times.
If BBS is honest then they should workout a formula to cultivate peaceful coexistence.
I don’t know whether to love BBS or hate them. They are so sound in their reasoning. Israel had been our friend throughout our fight against terrorism. So we can’t go against them at their time of grievances. But the Palestine people too had been homeless and desolate for the past 60 years. So they too have a right to fight for a homeland should be protected from the ill-fates. But the Muslims here are one sided. As the BBS say they are silent about their own kind killing their own kind but make a big uproar about Israel. For what? Just for the record? Because it does not do any good to anyone except harm our foreign relationships with Israel. We have to be practical in this sense.
I believe what the Palestianians and the Israelis should do is get together and invite our President to be the peacemaker because he is the best man for the job. He has been on both sides of the fence. That is, he is friendly with Israel and Palestine. Also, he has gone through a similar kind of war and he understands what both sides want and need. Therefore he can mediate a settlement suitable for both sides. Those westerners like USA, Britain and Norway are one sided. They are concerned about Israel only. Russia, China and India maybe one sided too but not as extremely as the Westerners. But our President is non-aligned. He does not favor either Capitalist or Socialists countries although he looks towards them for economic development. He uses the Buddhist path for his guidance and adheres to non-violence and non-animosity. Israelis and Palestinians, I appeal to you to put your faith in God and put your trust in President Mahinda Rajapaksha as your mediator and find a solution to your problems through President Mahinda Rajapaksha.
Dear Sundara Sunarutha,
“Israelis and Palestinians, I appeal to you to put your faith in God and put your trust in President Mahinda Rajapaksha as your mediator and find a solution to your problems through President Mahinda Rajapaksha.” What is Mahinda Rajapakse’s credibility? MR should first mediate conflicts in SL before engage in global matters. Charity begins at your own home. BBS has a point: in this crisis between Palestinians & Israelis we should not take sides and no one should demonstrate against any one in Sri Lanka. This problem is more than what we can chew. Pl. ask MR to put his own house in order.
People who has extremely short memory will not be able to remember how the Sri Lanka was before 2009. Those people who survived from the business of the war are the only ones who would say Sri Lanka is not in order after 2009. In fact those people are the ones who are not in order because they are the ones who want war. Most of the time they live overseas and earn by side businesses through the war. They lost all that income and now angry about the situation in Sri Lanka today.
No country is perfect, not even USA. USA had black and white communal violence in Texas for last 3 weeks. They don’t publish it too much, so our stupids don’t know and think USA is a heaven, and Sri Lanka is a hell. Every country is a heaven for some and a hell for others. That is the nature. You crying about that is like a child crying asking for the moon.
Short memory is an illness and needs urgent medical attention.
What is your problem Mr.Amarakoon. Are you deaf and blind? Didn’t MR put a stop to a 30 year war in just three or lets say Five years from the time he took office? Isn’t that enough for credibility. Give me some names of world leaders to match that!
I quite agree with you Mr.Manjula. Some people in Sri Lanka regret that the war is over because they had a form of income through it. Now it’s no more! I call them Parasites!
Then there are people who are thankful that the war is over but don’t want to express it because they don’t like the person who stopped it. They are Political extremists! Extremism means unbalance of mind!
Then there are people who disregard the great feat like stopping the war and make a big fuss over common problems which every country has. As the saying goes, “There are no remedies for ignorance.”
This is not a good sign for a religion like Buddhism which is supposed to be all about peace.
Secondly I don’t see the point in supporting either of the two countries that are engaged in this meaningless war as they are both arrogant and stupid. The only thing that is happening in the middle east is that lots of poor innocent people are dying.
WE should be thankful for having a country at peace and try to keep it that way without all this religious and race superiority bullshit that is going on iu our small country.
I would suggest severely punish any one who breaks the law regardless of who they are. I think it will be a better place if we all think that we are Sri Lankan’s first.