4 Oct, 2014
Myanmar, Sri Lanka Buddhist extremists join hands | Arab News
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A hard-line Buddhist monk from Myanmar known for his anti-Muslim stance said his movement would join hands with a like-minded Sri Lankan group to “protect” Buddhists, whom he called an endangered world minority.
Ashin Wirathu, leader of 969, a fundamentalist movement, was a special invitee Sunday at a rally of Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Power Force, a Sri Lankan group accused of instigating deadly violence against the country’s minority Muslims in June.
Joining 969 could further boost an already soaring support base for Bodu Bala Sena, an ultranationalist group that has enlisted thousands of youth and Buddhist monks in just two years of existence. This, in turn, could exacerbate mistrust and tensions between Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese-Buddhists and its Muslims.
Read the rest: Myanmar, Sri Lanka Buddhist extremists join hands | Arab News
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