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Sri Lanka was hit on Sunday (April 21st) by a series of attacks on churches and hotels, leaving hundreds dead and wounded. It occurs in a tense political context and in a country where the balance between different ethnic and religious communities is sensitive.
This series of deadly attacks has not yet been claimed and the experts urge all to be very careful about the identity of the perpetrators of these attacks. Especially since Sri Lanka is composed of an ethnico-religious mosaic with a fragile balance, with a Buddhist majority and Hindu, Muslim and Christian minorities.
Researcher Gerrit Kurtz, an expert on Sri Lanka and conflict prevention, says one of the attackers' goals is " to reinforce the differences between ethno-religious groups ", who maintain " very complex " relationships. " in the country. " This kind of attack lends itself to accentuate the divisions that exist between communities and also to provoke even more violence, " he says.
" It is easy to accuse such and such group to justify being oppressed. And to attack Christians makes it possible to say: "There, it was the Muslims who perpetrated these attacks!" However, the researcher recalls, " violent acts against minorities, including Christians, have not been perpetrated by Muslims in the past ". They are " rather Buddhist extremists who have sometimes been violent against Christians, " says the specialist.
It is therefore necessary to exercise the greatest caution. " We must be careful not to say that violence can come only from one side. For now, we can not designate anyone , insists Gerrit Kurtz. There are in fact many possibilities to fan the passions and create even more chaos. It is certainly not an exaggeration to think that groups that make such attacks have precisely those kinds of goals . "
Context and political consequences
The Sri Lankan specialist also points out that these attacks occur in a tense political context. " There have been bickering within the government for months. At the end of last year, there was a constitutional crisis . The president from one of the parties then opposed the Prime Minister from another party. They have reconciled, but only theoretically. They do not trust at all. In this situation, there may be groups that try to set themselves up as saviors, when there is chaos. Attacks can be used to justify oppression or a certain political line. And this is very dangerous. "
The director of the Sri Lankan think tank Verite Research, Nishan de Mel, points out that these attacks may indeed have important political consequences. " The current government may be seriously affected by what happens. Their ability to provide security is questioned as well as the confidence that the Christian minority had in this government. One of the arguments that brought this government to power is that it would be better with minorities than the previous one. That he would have a greater commitment to diversity and coexistence. In a way, the government has failed, it has failed to protect minorities and it will affect its credibility . "
But besides the political consequences, Mel's Nishan also points out that the economy will suffer a lot from this tragedy. " The best known hotels have been targeted, so it will have a big impact on tourism and investment in Sri Lanka ." According to researcher Gerrit Kurtz, one of the objectives of the perpetrators of the attacks was precisely to " attack sources of income for the country's economy by targeting tourist hotels. "