ICC Note:
On January 5th, a small Christian community in Paharaiya village, located in northwestern Sri Lanka, was attacked by Buddhist radicals led by a local monk. The Christian community’s small worship center was destroyed as a result of the attack and now the community is forced to gather and worship under a tree. Attacks on Christians and their places of worship are often committed by radical Buddhist nationalists in Sri Lanka. Attacks have decreased in recent years, but in Sri Lanka’s rural areas, these sort of incidents still happen. 
01/16/2017 Sri Lanka (Herald Malaysia Online) – “No attack can stop us. We shall continue to love God and pray under a tree,” said Kamal Wasantha, leader of a small Christian community in Sri Lanka.
He spoke to Asia News after their prayer hall was destroyed last week by some Buddhist thugs, headed by a local monk, who are still free.
Despite this, the community harbors no desire for revenge. “We have not cursed them,” Wasantha said, “and shall not attack them in retaliation. Judgment belongs only to God. We do our part: prayers shall continue under a tree.”
Wasantha is a simple farmer. He leads prayers at the Kithu Sevana (House of Christ) in Paharaiya, a village in north-western Sri Lanka. The structure was a modest building where local Christians, around 15 families and 20 other worshippers, met to pray.
A group of Buddhists attacked it on 5 January. “First, they threatened us verbally,” Wasantha said. “Then they came with wooden sticks, iron bars and knives and destroyed everything.”
People “begged the attackers not to damage the place of worship,” but “the Lord’s house was pulled down in front of our eyes, as we asked God to forgive them.”
Rev Ranjan Palitha, who comes every week from Chilaw (more than 90 km away) to help Wasantha, said that the center was built more than 15 years ago. “It was never attacked before, only verbal threats. This is the first incident that has the proportions of a real disaster.”
Revs Palitha and Adrian De Vissar celebrate the liturgy and lead the prayers every Sunday and Friday mornings. The two said that first inkling of what was going to happen came on 1st January, as they made their way home.
“Our car was blocked by the Buddhist monk of Gothamiramaya, who used foul language towards us. He then threatened more serious punishment if we continued to conduct liturgies.”
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