• Catholic Church warns public to be wary of conspiring politicians/groups gaining advantage by virtue signaling, moral grandstanding, inciting, urges CID to revel truth   
• BASL monitoring situ closely 

Claiming that the recent incidents of certain individuals making statements that allegedly insult Buddhism and other religions seem to be part of a politically motivated conspiracy, the Catholic Church urged the people to be aware of certain politicians and political groups who hope to gain benefits from such statements and improper responses made with regard to them.

Speaking to the media yesterday (31), the Director of the National Catholic Social Communication Centre, Reverend Cyril Gamini Fernando said that there had been incidents of certain politicians and political groups having attempted to create conflicts between different ethnic and religious groups with the intention of gaining power. He said that such parties had made use of certain individuals, the media and social media platforms in a planned manner to achieve their objectives. "The religious issues that are emerging at present also seem to be a part of such a conspiracy. In the end, those who gain power through these issues will become rich and spend luxurious lives, and the people who fight with each other by prying into these conspiracies will become extremely helpless. Therefore, we emphasise that it is the responsibility of the Police and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to carry out a transparent, fair and independent inquiry into these incidents and to reveal the truth about the individuals in question and the other parties behind them," he said.

Condemning the statements that have allegedly insulted Buddhism and other religions, and their founders, Father Gamini Fernando said that such statements as well as improper responses to them may lead to conflicts between different ethnic and religious groups in the country, as has happened in the past. "We urge the people to be careful of certain politicians and political groups who are attempting to make use of these kinds of situations. Their selfish objectives can only be defeated by behaving intelligently, and ensuring peace and harmony among ourselves." Speaking further, he said that certain individuals, groups and organisations that are interested in responding to the incidents in question are also working in a manner that fuels the problematic situations. "Knowingly or unknowingly, they are also trying to create conflicts among the public. Them circulating false information is also a misuse of the freedom of expression. For instance, the reports by certain media institutions that a comedy show during which one questionable statement regarding Buddhism was made was held at an auditorium of a Catholic girls' school is totally false," added Fernando.

Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) stated that it is currently monitoring the incidents that have allegedly insulted religions and the responses made with regard to such in the wake of such incidents. "We are in the process of discussing these incidents. We are monitoring the situation, and closely studying the developments. When the BASL's Executive Committee meets, we will make a decision on such incidents. It will happen probably towards the middle of next week," BASL President, Kaushalya Navaratne told The Daily Morning yesterday.