The US State Department’s 2017 Report on International Religious Freedom, which was released on Tuesday (29), says that attacks on religious minorities in Sri Lanka continued unabated from the previous year. 

The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) documented 97 incidents of attacks on churches, intimidation and violence against pastors and their congregations, and obstruction of worship services, the report said. 

The Sri Lankan Muslim Council (MCSL) reported dozens of violent attacks on mosques and Muslim prayer rooms during the year, especially during Ramadan, it said. 

“Buddhist nationalist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) continued to promote the supremacy of the ethnic Sinhalese Buddhist majority and denigrate religious and ethnic minorities, especially via social media.”

“Civil society observers expressed concern the rhetoric of the BBS and other Buddhist nationalist groups incited societal actors to commit acts of violence against members of religious minority groups.”

“The NCEASL documented 97 cases of attacks on churches, intimidation and violence against pastors and their congregations, and obstruction of worship services during the year, compared with 89 cases in 2016.” 

“The Centre for Policy Alternatives stated several Buddhist nationalist organizations regularly espoused hate speech and continued to enjoy impunity from arrest and investigation,” the report said.