Sri Lankan police have arrested a Buddhist monk in Colombo as he staged a protest against the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) on Wednesday.
Watareka Vijitha Thera was arrested by Colombo Fort Police as he protested outside the Presidential Secretariat.
The Daily Mirror alleges he was “behaving in a violent manner” while Colombo Gazette reports was arrested for “disrupting the duties of officials”.
Bodu Bala Sena, an organisation led by Buddhist monks, has been accused of stoking violence against non-Sinhala Buddhist groups on the island. Earlier this year, the organisation’s leader Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera had an arrest warrant issued for hate speech and inciting violence. He is currently on bail, after several Buddhist organisations staged a protest against moves to arrest him.
The organisation has held several meetings with senior government officials including both the president and justice minister.
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