FLASH NEWS from COMPASS DIRECT
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BUDDHIST MOBS ATTACK FIVE CHURCHES IN SRI LANKA
Summary:
DUBLIN, August 5 (Compass) -- Mobs attacked five churches in southern Sri Lanka on August 2. Initial information from the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) suggests the organized attack is part of the governments plan to introduce anti-conversion legislation. Police thwarted an attempted attack on the Methodist church in Rathgama that a crowd of Buddhist monks and youth mounted on July 27. However, the monks returned the following Saturday. They stoned the building, destroyed pews and benches, and beat two church workers so badly that they required hospital treatment. Other churches in the area were attacked on August 2, including the Assemblies of God in Thanamalwila and Lumugamvehera, and the Calvary church in Hikkaduwa. According to the EASL, attackers are attempting to incite Buddhists against the Christian community in order to create an environment of religious disharmony which, in turn, will allow the government to argue convincingly for the introduction of anti-conversion laws.
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BUDDHIST MOBS ATTACK FIVE CHURCHES IN SRI LANKA
Summary:
DUBLIN, August 5 (Compass) -- Mobs attacked five churches in southern Sri Lanka on August 2. Initial information from the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) suggests the organized attack is part of the governments plan to introduce anti-conversion legislation. Police thwarted an attempted attack on the Methodist church in Rathgama that a crowd of Buddhist monks and youth mounted on July 27. However, the monks returned the following Saturday. They stoned the building, destroyed pews and benches, and beat two church workers so badly that they required hospital treatment. Other churches in the area were attacked on August 2, including the Assemblies of God in Thanamalwila and Lumugamvehera, and the Calvary church in Hikkaduwa. According to the EASL, attackers are attempting to incite Buddhists against the Christian community in order to create an environment of religious disharmony which, in turn, will allow the government to argue convincingly for the introduction of anti-conversion laws.