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'We have collected details' declares Sinhala extremist in warning to Sri Lanka's protestors

As anti-government protests continued in Sri Lanka, a pro-government march was held by regime supporters and Sinhala Buddhist monks who carried flags and placards backing the embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

During the march, Sinhala extremist activist Dan Priyasad warned that they had "collected the details of all engaging in protests".

"Severe actions to follow," he said, through a megaphone at the rally. "Be careful.” 

The march started at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in Colombo, named after the current prime minister. In addition to Priyasad and the nationalist Buddhist monks, other pro-government activists such as Iraj Weeratne were also spotted at the protest.

One sign read, “do not lay your hands on the Sinhala Buddhist public opinion”.

The Sinhala nationalist rally comes as protests continue, notably at Galle Face in Colombo. The feature of Sinhala Buddhist monks at such nationalists rally is also not new. The religious supremacy of Buddhism has been historically enshrined in Sri Lanka’s constitution with Article 9 which reads “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).” 

The nature of the state has been protected by several Sinhala figures from across the political spectrum, including former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake, who in 2017 expressed no constitutional reform is needed to make Sri Lanka less Buddhist-centric. “Sri Lanka needs a constitution that continues to protest, promote and give due honour to Buddhism,” he said. Then-president Maithripala Sirisena in 2017 also made similar statements on preserving the unitary state of the country saying he would not allow anyone to change the foremost place of Buddhism in the existing constitution. 

Buddhist statues and temples have been constructed in Tamil areas, often replacing and damaging Tamil Hindu temples, with locals constantly protesting against government-sponsored acts of Sinhalisation of the Tamil North-East. 

The US State Department officials and various human rights reports have raised concerns pertaining to Sri Lanka’s ongoing “Buddhist Sinhalese religious and cultural imperialism.” 

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