Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa attended a Buddhist religious ceremony to invoke blessings upon Sri Lanka’s armed forces this week, reported the Ministry of Defence.

His visit comes amid increased tension across the island, following attacks on Muslims by Sinhala Buddhist mobs. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is also the brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been closely linked to the Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, an influential group accused of masterminding much of the violence.

Sri Lanka’s Education Minister SB Dissanayake said that former US presidents should be “dragged on the road and killed” for committing atrocities in countries such as Iraq and Libya, reported the Colombo Gazette.

The minister, who was speaking at an event in Kandy, said that although Saddam Hussain had some shortcomings, he changed Iraq for the better, and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s death had ruined the country.

“Saddam may have had some flaws but then American leaders had worse flaws. They should be beaten and hanged, be it junior Bush or senior Bush. For the atrocities they committed they must be beaten and dragged on the road and killed,” he said at the event.

Sri Lankan Muslims called off a protest planned for today (Monday) to denounce a series of attacks by Buddhist extremists - after police warned their action could further inflame religious tensions. See NDTV’s report here.

On Sunday the police announced a ban on public meetings and rallies which ‘promote hatred among religions, AFP reported.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana also said Sunday that security would be stepped in Colombo in light of the impending Muslim protest against last week’s mob violence against Muslims in Aluthgama, which residents said were abetted by the security forces.

However on Monday, the Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamaath (SLTJ) said they were calling off their demonstration in the capital as well as a work stoppage (‘hartal’) after talks with a senior police officer in charge of security in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister GL Peiris told diplomats from Muslim countries in Colombo on Monday that an ongoing “vicious campaign” was designed to drive a wedge between Muslim states and Sri Lanka, The Island reported.

The minister said the international campaign was carried out in two ways.

"In its internal dimension, it is a direct attempt to alienate the Muslim community from the government. The external expression of this campaign has as its objective the purpose of driving a wedge between Sri Lanka and Muslim countries with a view to weakening Sri Lanka at international fora. The skillfully conceived and co-ordinated character of the campaign is apparent and substantial funding as well as other forms of material support from foreign sources is also in evidence," Peiris said.

Tamils and Muslims living in Toronto protested together on Monday against anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lanka.

The demonstration against attacks on Muslims by Sinhala Buddhist mobs was held in Scarborough and organised jointly by Tamil and Muslim Tamil community organisations.

Sri Lanka’s police allowed an event by the Bodu Bala Sena to go ahead earlier today (Monday), reports The Island, whilst a protest by Muslims against the violence, also scheduled for today, was called off after police warned that this could further inflame religious tension.

Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said on Sunday that the BBS event would not be stopped as it was a "religious event", but that action would be taken if racism was incited.