SW News: Ahead of the presidential election in 2024, church leaders in Sri Lanka are warning the populace against politicians' attempts to separate people based on religion.

Throughout history, racial and religious disputes have been fabricated to obtain political power. At a press conference on May 31, Father Cyril Gamini, the media spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo, stated that it appears that the persecution of Buddhism is a plot to obtain power.

The declaration came three days after police detained stand-up comedian Jayani Natasha Edirisuriya, 31, for insulting the Buddha and calling Buddhist women virgins. The country's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is looking into the allegations against her and a related accusation against a Protestant preacher named Jerome Fernando.

After a video from a performance at a concert called "Modabhimana" (fools' pride) went viral on social media and incited popular fury, Edirisuriya is accused of disrespecting the Buddha during her performance.

Invoking the wrath of Buddhist monks, detractors, and a portion of the media in the nation, the comedian claimed that preserving the virginity of Buddhist girls is the biggest goal for Buddhist-run institutions.
Her detractors charge that she disregarded Buddhist thought and culture and displayed a lack of comprehension.

Before that, on May 15, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced an investigation into Pastor Fernando, who is accused of disrespecting the Buddha while addressing a crowd of followers of his Born Again Christian Church. This was live-streamed on social media.

Officially, Sri Lanka is a Buddhist nation, with more than 70 percent of its 22 million inhabitants identifying themselves as Buddhists.

Before September 2024, the island nation will hold its presidential election. “The Church condemns the recent statements denigrating Lord Buddha and Buddhist religious practices. It is the responsibility of the CID to conduct a wide-ranging investigation and reveal the truth about all individuals and organizations suspected of insulting other religions, including Buddhism,” said Father Gamini. He said that some parties may conspire to gain political power by exploiting such incidents and urged people to be vigilant and not to be misled.

Sri Lanka witnessed the religious divisions deepen during the last presidential election in 2019 when Gotabaya Rajapaksa, swept to power riding on a Sinhala nationalist platform months after the deadly Easter Sunday bombings, which were allegedly carried out by an Islamist group with ties to the Islamic State.