Image above: Self-help project in Sri Lanka - the woman has received goats. By breeding and selling goats, poor people are empowered to earn their own money and not be dependent on charity.
Around midnight while the Christmas service was in full swing at a church in Balangoda, Pinnawala in Ratnapura district, two officers in charge and five other officers came to the spot while the service was being held. First, a plainclothes officer entered the church building and observed the surroundings. Shortly after, in the middle of the sermon, the pastor was asked to come out of the church immediately to the other officers.
Image right: One of the many happy recipients of the thousands of Bibles Danish European Mission supporters have given to poor Christians.
When the pastor went out to meet them, they ordered him to come to the police station immediately and give a statement. The officer in charge informed the pastor that there was a tense atmosphere in the village because of the religious activities the pastor was conducting. However, the pastor asked the officers to give him 15 minutes to finish the service. The officers refused and forced him to go to the police station.
When they arrived at the police station, the pastor was instructed not to communicate with anyone. Two Christians who had accompanied the pastor to the police station were verbally abused by the officer on duty and told to go back. Lawyers and concerned Christians who called the police station were told that the pastor had not been taken to the police station at all. After a long wait, at around 4pm, the pastor was questioned by a police officer and asked why he continued to hold services after clear instructions from the divisional secretary to stop all religious activities. The pastor replied that his lawyer had sent a letter to the District Secretary questioning the legal validity of the ban. The pastor explained that the District Secretary had not yet responded to this letter.
But the police officer maintained that it was illegal for the pastor to continue holding religious activities. Therefore, a case was opened against him for failing to follow the instructions of the district secretary. The pastor was not released from the police station until around 16:30.
The case was heard on December 26 and was adjourned to May 5, 2015 by the judge.
By then, we can hope that there will be greater respect for the law and for human rights, including religious freedom, than has been the case over the past several years, when Buddhist nationalist groups have felt emboldened by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose rule was characterized by increasing arbitrariness and nepotism and the murder of many critical journalists.
