protest monks dambulla april 2012

Thousands of Buddhist monks and lay supporters have protested the construction of a mosque and a Hindu temple built within the area designated as a Buddhist sacred zone in Dambulla. The protestors, shouted slogans and waved the Buddhist flag and marched from the Dambulla town towards the mosque located in the Kandalama Junction, during Friday (April 20, 2012) prayers.

After prayers had ended the protestors had asked the Muslim devotees to leave and had forcibly entered the mosque premises, demanding its removal.

However, Dambulla Divisional Secretary Lakshmi Hevapathirana had later arrived at the location and had confirmed the mosque was an illegal construction while assuring that its removal would commence on Monday (April 23).

Conducting prayers in the mosque until then is not permitted, he had said, while the protesters had subsequently evacuated the premises.

The protest was carried out against the halting of development activities in the Dambulla Buddhist sacred zone and erecting of houses of worship for other religions within the zone, Ada Derana reporter said.