Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church appealed for calm
and an alcohol ban Monday after clashes between Christians and Muslims in a
town scarred by the Easter suicide attacks.
Hundreds of security forces entered Negombo to
impose a curfew after dozens of Muslim-owned shops, homes and vehicles were
attacked.
St. Sebastian's church in the town 40 kilometres (25
miles) north of capital Colombo was one of three churches and three hotels hit
by jihadist suicide bombers on April 21 killing 257 people.
"I appeal to all Catholic and Christian
brothers and sisters not to hurt even a single Muslim person because they are
our brothers, because they are part of our religious culture," said
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo.
"Therefore please avoid hurting them and try to
create a better spirit of understanding and good relations between all the
communities of Sri Lanka," he said in a video message to the country.
- Liquor ban sought -
The cardinal visited Negombo, held talks with
clerics at a mosque and appealed to the government to shut bars in the Catholic-dominated
town known as "Little Rome", said his spokesman Father Edmund
Tilakaratne.
"As a temporary measure, the cardinal asked the
government to order the ban on liquor sales in Negombo area," Tilakaratne
told AFP.
In another televised appeal, Ranjith appealed to
Christians, Buddhists and Muslims to show restraint.
Negombo suffered the highest death toll in the
Easter Sunday attacks that were claimed by the Islamic State group. The bomb at
St. Sebastian's killed more than 100 worshippers.
A top police officer said two arrests were made
after the latest clashes and more suspects had been identified through CCTV
footage.
The officer said all will be prosecuted under
emergency laws approved after the Easter attacks.
"At least three people were injured in the
clashes," the officer told AFP. "Although we have arrested only two
suspects at the moment, many more have been identified and we will go after
them."
The officer said an alcohol-fuelled dispute between
two groups degenerated into the clashes.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a
statement the government will compensate those who lost property in the
night-time clashes.
Unverified video circulating on social media showed
mobs throwing stones at Muslim businesses, destroyed furniture inside homes,
shattered windows and overturned vehicles.
AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.
A few hundred extra troops and police were deployed
late Sunday as authorities imposed a night-time curfew in the town.
The government blocked access to WhatsApp, Facebook
and other social media platforms for several hours to prevent what it called
the spread of rumours and videos aimed at instigating unrest.
The curfew was lifted on Monday morning and social
media was working again by noon Monday.
Sri Lanka's main international airport is located in
the area, but police said there was no disruption.
Muslims make up around 10 percent of
Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka's 21 million population and Christians about 7.6
percent.
- Security for schools -
Meanwhile, public schools reopened Monday for the
first time since the Easter attacks, with heavily armed police and troops
guarding schools.
"The attendance was poor today, but we maintain
a high level of security," the top police officer said. "Most parents
are adopting a wait-and-see approach and we hope attendance will be back to
normal very soon."
The country has been under a state of emergency
since the Easter bombings.
Security forces and police have been give sweeping powers
to arrest and detain suspects.
The government has blamed the Easter bombings on a
local jihadist organisation which had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.
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