U.S. Congress Pressures Sri Lanka on Anti-Conversion LawFeb 5, 2009 The Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, received a letter today (2/05/2009), signed by 15 U.S. congressmen, asking that Sri Lanka shelve proposed legislation outlawing religious conversion.
The bill was approved in January, and a final vote in Sri Lanka’s parliament is expected this month.
“We believe that this proposed legislation will harm, not protect, the freedom of religion of the Sri Lankan people,” wrote the signers, who represent both political parties. “This anti-conversion bill is overbroad and targets all religious conversions, not just 'unethical conversions.'"
Democrats who signed the letter include: James McGovern, Massachusetts; Rush Holt, New Jersey; Michael McMahon, New York; Bart Gordon, Tennessee; and Maurice Hinchey, New York.
The letter was signed by Republicans Todd Akin, Missouri; Trent Franks, Arizona; Bob Inglis, South Carolina; Frank Wolf, Virgnia; Scott Garrett, New Jersey; Joseph Pitts, Pennsylvania; Paul Broun, Georgia, Thaddeus McCotter, Michigan; John McHugh, New York; and Robert Aderholt, Alabama.
The proposed bill calls for fines up to 500,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($4,425) and up to seven years in prison for trying to convert a Sri Lankan citizen from one religion to another by using "force, fraud or allurement." The harshest punishments are reserved for those convicted of converting women or children.
“The right to worship as dictated by one’s conscience is a basic fundamental human right, and one that is the foundation of any truly free society,” said Rep. Akin, who organized the letter.
The Sri Lankan ambassador received an almost identical letter, signed by 20 human rights activists representing Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha'i, and interfaith organizations, last week. Angela Wu, representing the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, signed that letter. Also, four members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) signed that letter.
The anti-conversion bill was first introduced by the Buddhist Nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or National Heritage Party, in 2004. At that time it failed, and Sri Lankan officials assured religious and human rights groups that it would not be revived. The previous Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States last February told a public forum in Washington, D.C. that the anti-conversion bill was dead, and would never “see the light of day.”
The JHU, which is led by Buddhist monks, is a small part of the government’s ruling coalition in parliament. The government is said to oppose the bill, but it is expected to pass sometime in February.
The bill also “criminalizes charitable acts, humanitarian aid and peaceful religious dialogue,” the signers wrote.
On Dec. 26, 2004 an earthquake hit South Asia creating a deadly tsunami, killing more than 200,000 persons, almost 35,000 in Sri Lanka alone. In addition, more than 500,000 Sri Lankans were made homeless in a flash. Millions of dollars in foreign aid, much of it collected by Christian and other religious charities in the United States and Europe, poured into Sri Lanka.
Should this bill pass, much of that aid would be illegal in Sri Lanka’s next disaster.
Almost 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s population is Buddhist. Eight percent is Muslim. Seven percent is Hindu, and six percent Christian, mostly Catholic, with just one percent identifying themselves as Protestant, according to the CIA World Factbook.
The Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a nonpartisan, interfaith, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions.
To arrange an interview with a Becket Fund attorney, contact Tom Carter at 202-349-7205, or 202-538-2044 (cell) or becketfund.carter@gmail.com.
Press coverage:
Washington Times
US News and World Report
Religion Clause
Alliance Defense Fund
Daily Mirror
PeaceMuslims.org
ChristianAggression.org
The Lanka Sun
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