An Indian NGO Pasumai Thaayagam, at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today, outlined that intolerance in Sri Lanka contributed to the ‘structural destruction of the identity, religion and culture of the Tamil people’ on the island.

Speaking at the interactive dialogue of Item 9 on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, the NGO stated that the "recent surge in ethno-religious intolerance is a direct result of the government’s lack of political will to address accountability and punish offenders," the Indian NGO called for an international independent investigation.
 
Full statement reproduced below.

Pasumai Thaayagam wishes to express its deep concern over escalation of religious intolerance in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is home to many ethnic and religious groups, but despite its diversity, and driven by an increasing trend in radical Buddhist Nationalism, there is an alarming increase in acts of violence against non-Buddhist religious communities, primarily Tamils practicing Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

The recent report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/25/23) draws attention to a significant surge in attacks against religious groups, led by Sinhala Buddhist Nationalist factions. To date, the High Commissioner’s repeated calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to take necessary action have gone unheeded.

In 2013 alone, Muslim non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka reported 280 separate incidents of intimidation, violence and attacks against the Muslim Tamil community, mosques and Muslim-owned businesses. A 300-year old Mosque in Anuradhapura was destroyed by a mob led by Buddhist monks. Friday prayer at a mosque in Matale was interrupted by a 2000-strong mob claiming that the existence of an Islamic shrine was illegal in a Buddhist country. Despite the mosque’s location at that site for over 60 years, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Religious Affairs ordered the mosque to be relocated. In many cases, video footage has emerged that has confirmed eye-witness accounts of the participation of Buddhist clergy in these offenses, while the police looked on without taking steps to prevent the violence.
Likewise, Christian groups have also reported more than 103 attacks on Christians and churches in the past year.

Empowered by Government inaction, an extremist Buddhist clergy-led group called Bodhu Bala Sena or The Buddhist Force, is allowed to deliver hate speeches and spread its Buddhist supremacist ideology. Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, the President’s own brother, has recently praised this group for its services to the country.

Five years after the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, where tens of thousands of Tamils perished in ethnically-based violence, the recent surge in ethno-religious intolerance is a direct result of the government’s lack of political will to address accountability and punish offenders. This ethno-religious intolerance is also emblematic of the systematic and structural destruction of the identity, religion and culture of the Tamil people.

Mr. President/Madam Vice President, PT strongly supports the call of the High Commissioner for the urgent need for an independent international mechanism in the form of a Commission of Inquiry to address past and on-going violations in Sri Lanka. We call upon this Council to exert its obligation to end impunity and restore fundamental freedoms for all peoples living in Sri Lanka.

Thank you Mr. President/Madam Vice President.