Protesters in Colombo rally against former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is seeking to make a political comeback in next month's general election, for inciting religious extremism and provoking violence. (Photo: ucanews.com)
Civil rights activists rallied on July 10 against former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who they accused of corruption and of promoting religious extremism and violence.
Activists shouted slogans and waved black flags in front of the capital Colombo's Fort Railway Station.
Brito Fernando, president of the Families of the Disappeared, said that the Sri Lankan people had already rejected Rajapaksa during the 2015 presidential elections.
Rajapaksa is seeking to stage a political comeback during next month's parliamentary elections.
Fernando said the former president continues to propagate religious extremism and racism.
"There has been no justice for the victims of anti-Muslim riots and disappeared families," Fernando, dressed in black, told a group of 400 protesters.
Fernando, who was attacked several times during 2015 elections by unknown assailants, said Rajapaksa and Buddhist extremist groups used “religious extremism and racism” to incite violence.
"The former government backed Bodu Bala Sena to create religious and ethnic discrimination," he said. "No legal action was taken against them."
The Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), was blamed for anti-Muslim riots last year that resulted in four deaths, the displacement of 2,248 people and the destruction of about 250 homes, shops and mosques.
Father Nandana Manatunga, who also took part in the protest, lamented the fact that there has been no official investigation into the violence.
“There has been no investigation of the BBS for past attacks against mosques, Muslim enterprises and other religious worship places," he said.
The priest said religious and ethnic discrimination remain a serious threat to national unity.
"The former president has already started using hate speech and is spreading religious extremism and racism directed at the forthcoming parliamentary election," said Fr Manatunga, of the Kandy-based Commission for Justice, Peace, Human Development and Human Rights.
"This is the ideal time to protest before the election," he told ucanews.com. "The former president says he is the sole representative of the Sinhalese."
Arjuna Munasinghe, 58, a protest participant from Ja-Ela, said Rajapaksa has already begun promoting religious extremism, visiting temples and with Buddhist national groups.
“The former president has already started to go to temples and address the people, he creates religious extremism," Munasinghe told ucanews.com.
"Minority religions and ethnic groups are victims of the majority group," he said.
Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament in late June, calling a general election on August 17.
Sri Lanka is 70 percent is Buddhist, 15 percent Hindu, 8 percent Christian and 7 percent Muslim.