Buddhist monks lead attacks on churches

PODDALA, Sri Lanka — Unruly mobs in Sri Lanka have attacked three churches, in one incident setting car tires on fire in front of a Methodist church to prevent people from entering for Sunday worship. On May 6, a Buddhist monk in Poddala led a mob to a site where members of the United Christian Fellowship had begun building a community hall and threatened the pastor and a construction worker; one man grabbed the construction worker by the collar and assaulted him. Construction is on hold due to fears of another attack. In Piliyandala, southeast of Colombo, Buddhist monks April 30 led a mob to a Methodist church and prevented members from entering, as police declined to help. Also in Piliyandala, an Assembly of God church is facing a poster campaign and threats of massive protests if it does not close down. Violent mobs have carried out at least 160 attacks on churches or Christian institutions since 2002, when Buddhist monks first launched their campaign to introduce anti-conversion legislation.